


You Make Me Smile

by TheTacticianAlchemist



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Amnesia, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Biting, Bittersweet, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Frottage, Kissing, Licking, Love Confessions, M/M, Masturbation, Porn With Plot, Smut, slight ooc on Shun's part but someone has to be wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-07 07:46:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13430163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacticianAlchemist/pseuds/TheTacticianAlchemist
Summary: Yuto finds himself inexplicably drawn to a strange boy in the rubble of Heartland--a boy named Yuya, who looks almost exactly like him. But when he asks where Yuya's from, Yuya realizes that he can't answer.[AU where Yuya is somehow sent to Heartland with no memory of anything but his name.]





	1. Part I: Yuto

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just one-third of the way through Arc V--please don't tell me any spoilers--AND I'VE TURNED INTO SUCH TRASH FOR THIS SHOW.
> 
> I've taken a lot of liberties writing this since I don't know how the show ends and don't know much about Heartland except the fact that it's a goddamn wasteland now. I hope I don't end up looking at this fic in the future and going "Huh, I was totally wrong," but at the very least I can slap "AU" on this thing and feel better about it. This is the first piece I've written for YGO and tbh I probably won't be the last.
> 
> Also this was totally written for @chromsai on tumblr, I can't BELIEVE you let me watch this show and turn into goddamn trash.

Heartland is burning.

 _But when is it not?_ the dark side of Yuto’s mind says. With every duel, with every scream, with every new person turned into a card, that huge blackness grows ever and ever more open. A bottomless pit, jaws yawning open to swallow him. He tries to ignore it.

Shun doesn’t. Shun embraces it. He duels the Academia soldiers without hesitation, without any inkling of mercy. He would slaughter anyone from Fusion, even if there were no reward.

Nevertheless, he’s Yuto’s best friend—his only friend, anymore. With Ruri gone, there’s no one else he can trust so wholeheartedly.

But with Heartland under attack almost daily, Yuto feels himself sliding further and further down into that dark pit, where only fear and loneliness live, where not even Shun can reach him.

()()()

Yuto slips down a mountain of rubble and garbage, holding out his arms to keep his balance. In the square behind him, an explosion rips the air, heat and light and sound filling his senses, brightening up the night almost as if it were daylight. He trips, and in a second he’s rolling over and over, his arms and shoulders and legs hitting rough cement and dirt.

He slows to a stop, and he can’t move for a moment—there’s no breath in his lungs, no strength in his limbs. There’s no sensation in his whole body except for an overwhelming heaviness.

A groan escapes his lips, and he struggles to push himself up. He blinks.

There’s a boy in the rubble, just feet away from him. He’s filthy—a once-pristine white coat is ripped and muddied, his red-and-green hair matted and bloody. The goggles on his head—one of the lenses is broken. The only part of him that shines is the crystal pendant on his chest.

Yuto blinks again, and he sees himself.

He tenses, the feeling in his body coming back to him all at once. He shakes his head, closes his eyes, and opens them again. The boy still looks exactly like him.

“Shit,” he hisses, trying to scramble to his feet. His first thought is that this must be a Fusion trick. Yuto surely doesn’t have a twin.

He stumbles as he backs away, but he keeps himself from falling. Another explosion sounds, a bit farther away this time, but he winces at the sound.

The boy’s brows knit together, his lips press together. And even amidst the smoke and fire and distant sounds of battle, Yuto can hear him whimper.

Yuto’s whole body jerks, and his chest tightens. He pulls at his choker, his whole body hot, and he realizes that his breathing is growing heavier. He tightens a fist to steady himself.

And then he steps toward the boy and pulls him from the rubble, drawing him into his arms. The boy groans and whimpers, but his eyes don’t open. Yuto holds him close, turns, and runs.

()()()

The safe house is empty. It’s a dingy refurbished basement on the outskirts of Heartland, in a small, deserted residential district—but it’s warm, the pipes still work, and there’s food. Yuto puts the boy on the worn-out couch before hurrying back to the trap door and locking it securely. It’s difficult to see on the floor above, which makes it perfect for hiding. The other floors of the house are usable, but the fact that they’re above ground makes it vulnerable to venture up there without good reason. Better to leave it a dusty mess than to make it look lived-in.

Yuto takes a breath and runs a hand through his hair. He glances at the boy, so eerily like himself yet not. He’s grown still, his breathing less labored, but his brows are still drawn tight together. Yuto grabs a ratty blanket from the chair and drapes it over the boy.

He slowly and carefully takes off the boy’s broken goggles and searches his hair for shards of glass. He finds shallow cuts and goes to the cupboard to pull out their ever-dwindling first-aid supplies, returning with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. He dabs at the cuts on his scalp and face; the boy hisses, but still doesn’t wake up. Yuto grabs a bandage and wraps it around the wound on the boy’s temple as sparingly as possible.

With the cotton ball still in one hand, Yuto pulls back the blanket. He bites his lip when he reaches for the bottom of the boy’s shirt, and then he shakes his head, unsure of why he’s so tentative. He’s treated wounds before—hell, he and Shun have helped each other countless times to get to areas where the sun doesn’t shine. _This guy’s stomach shouldn’t be a problem._

But then again, he realizes when he pulls up the boy’s shirt and finds a firm abdomen with a very small spattering of freckles on his stomach and chest, he’s never had to deal with a stranger who looks exactly like him. That is to say, Yuto’s scars aren’t mirrored on the boy—although there are new, light cuts on him—but everything else is.

Yuto looks back up at the boy’s sleeping face. “Who are you?” he whispers.

Despite his concerns, he treats the rest of the boy’s wounds, only bandaging one more spot on his upper leg—he’s lucky most of his cuts are superficial. Yuto rearranges the boy’s clothes back to normal, fighting the heat in his face, and then puts the blanket back over him.

It’s then he realizes that he’s shaking.

He sits in the oversized chair, too worried to go into the room with the bed for fear that he won’t hear Shun when he returns. He lays his head back, and his eyes drift closed.

()()()

Some sound wakes him up, something like a hiss. His eyes go wide—he’s instantly awake—and the sound turns into a gasp. His gaze darts around the room until it settles on the boy, weakly sitting up on the couch. His red eyes are wide as well, staring directly into his own.

Instantly, that burning feeling in his chest is back. He grimaces, and the boy bites his lip and looks down, his hand going to grip his shirt, just above his heart.

Yuto stands, slowly coming toward the boy. “Are you all right? I found you passed out in the rubble.”

“Um…” The boy closes his eyes and lifts a hand to his temple. “My head…”

“Take it easy.” Yuto puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “There was an explosion in the attack last night. You were probably caught up in it and hit your head.”

“What…” The boy blinks, staring up at him with those wide red eyes. “An attack?”

“Yes, by Academia.” Yuto pushes a little on him. “Lay back down. You’re probably hungry; I’ll cook something. Are you thirsty?”

The boy nods, opening his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He lays back down, propping his head up on the lumpy armrest. Yuto tries to ignore how the boy watches him as he moves toward the sink in the corner. He finds a cup and fills it from the bucket full of water that’s already been boiled—there’s no telling if and when Academia will try to ruin the water supply—and then comes back to hand it to the boy.

“Thank you,” he says quietly, taking the cup and sipping from it. He pauses, and then takes a big gulp, and Yuto has to grab it.

“Sips,” he warns. “Don’t make yourself sick.”

“Ah…right.” The boy nods, then takes a careful sip. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Yuto hesitates, feeling like he should do something—say something— _more_ , but nothing comes to him. He returns to the tiny kitchen area and fishes around for a can of soup to heat up on the stove. He can still feel the boy’s eyes on him.

He divvies the soup into two bowls and grabs a couple spoons. “Careful,” he says, placing the boy’s bowl on the coffee table before he sits in the chair. “It’s hot.”

“Thank you,” the boy says yet again, nodding. He sits up slowly and pulls the bowl into his lap, covered by the blanket, and blows on a spoonful. He still winces at the heat, but it doesn’t stop him from continuing to eat.

When the boy glances up and meets his eyes, Yuto realizes that he’s been staring. And suddenly, he can’t leave it alone anymore.

“Who are you?” he asks. “Why do you look like me?”

“…I don’t know.” The boy’s hand trembles, and he tightens it into a fist. “Is this…a dream?”

Yuto frowns. “No. Whatever this is, I don’t think it’s a dream.”

The boy shakes his head. “I’m sorry. It’s just…” He searches for the words. “I don’t remember anything. Not the explosion, or ‘Academia’…”

Yuto stares at him. _How hard did he hit his head?_ “Do you at least remember your own name?”

The boy blinks, staring at his hands. He reaches up and touches the crystal pendant on his chest. “…Yuya. My name is Yuya.”

And then he goes quiet.

()()()

It isn’t safe to walk around during the daytime, so Yuto doesn’t expect Shun to arrive until after nightfall. But still, that fact doesn’t stop him from worrying that his friend has been trapped in a card. He turns on his small two-way radio, even though he’s worried that the batteries will go out and he figures Shun won’t want to make any sound if he’s hiding, and waits for any word on Shun’s end.

Yuto does what he can to keep busy without going crazy. He cleans the kitchen and bathroom and organizes them. He makes sure the bedroom is free of bugs—the world felt almost _normal_ again once when Shun freaked out upon seeing a spider in there once. He even goes above for just a few moments, looking out the windows carefully to take stock of their surroundings. Nothing is out of place.

When there’s finally nothing he can do, he takes a shower to clean the grime and stink off himself. Like every other day, he wishes they still had soap, but there’s only so much he can do. He dries himself off with a towel when he’s done, then takes stock of his clothes. He sighs and cleans them in the tub before hanging them up, and then wraps the towel around his waist so that he can venture into the other room to search for his clean set.

Yuto glances toward the couch to check if the boy—Yuya—is still resting, and he freezes when he meets his gaze.

Yuto immediately looks away, fighting the tingling in his cheeks, frustrated that he doesn’t understand why he’s blushing in the first place. “Are you feeling okay?” he asks, forcing the words out of his mouth and making his feet move toward the small dresser where he and Shun keep their clean clothes and whatever extra pants and shirts they can find. He kneels down to open it, quickly finding his neatly-folded set.

“B-better,” Yuya says.

“Good,” is all Yuto can say, and he retreats back to the bathroom to change.

()()()

Yuto sits in the chair and lays his cards out on the coffee table, taking stock of them and mentally polishing his strategies.

Yuya has been mostly quiet for a couple hours, laying down and resting. Luckily, he can get up by himself to go to the bathroom, even though he’s a bit unsteady on his feet. Yuto hasn’t been able to get him out of his mind, but the act of going through his deck is therapeutic; for a few minutes, finally, there’s nothing else.

“…You have a strong deck.”

Yuto glances up and finds that Yuya is laying on his side, facing him and his cards. Since that morning, he’s cleaned up, and he put on a t-shirt and shorts that are too big for him; his other clothes are hanging to dry in the bathroom. Yuto can’t really shake the fact that he’s worn those clothes himself.

Yuya lifts his head a little. “You’ve worked hard on it, haven’t you…?”

“Yuto,” he says, realizing far too belatedly that he didn’t introduce himself.

“Yuto.” Yuya’s eyes almost flash in the somewhat dim light, and Yuto realizes that he hasn’t moved since their eyes locked. “You’re a duelist too?”

That finally shakes him out of it. “I have to be. But you—you duel?”

Yuya nods and sits up slowly. “I remember that much.” He pulls a deck of cards out of his pocket and slowly shuffles through them. “Perfomapals… Heh.” A grin lights up his face. “I don’t really remember using them, but—I know them.”

Yuto realizes that his mouth has dropped open. He hurriedly shuts it before Yuya can see. “Performapals?”

“Yeah. They’re cute.” Yuya holds out a card with a pink hippo on it. That smile is still on his lips. “See?”

“So long as it wins, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Yuto points out, and Yuya frowns.

“The point of duels is to have fun and bring smiles to everyone,” Yuya says, clutching his deck. “For the duelists and the audience. Winning is great, yeah, but it doesn’t matter so much.”

Yuto stares at him, and Yuya’s cheeks dust red as he tries to hold himself up as straight as possible. “What is it?” the boy asks.

 _You really don’t know anything, do you?_ Yuto wants to ask, but he can’t bring himself to. Something about Yuya—his smile, his voice, his eyes, his purity—keeps him from wanting to shatter his perception of reality.

“Nothing,” Yuto says, and he looks back down at his cards. “I’m just not used to people not caring about winning.”

“Yuto?”

He looks back up. “Yes?”

Yuya holds up his deck. “…Would you like to have a duel?”

He blinks. “A duel?”

Yuya nods. “Just a friendly match with the cards—no duel disks. Is that okay?”

There’s no reason to agree to a duel, but there also isn’t a reason to refuse it, and Yuto finds himself really wanting to see just what kind of person Yuya is. _And the best way to do that is to duel,_ he thinks, remembering for a moment the fantastic duels he used to watch as a child—fantastic duels that _he_ used to participate in.

“All right,” Yuto says, and Yuya smiles brightly.

The sight startles him, and it takes a moment for Yuto to remember to clean up his cards and shuffle them into his deck. Yuya sits on the floor to be closer to the coffee table and extends his arms in a sweep.

“Ladies and gentlemen—or, just _gentleman_ , I guess,” he says, bowing slightly. “The fun is about to begin.”

And a smile stretches across Yuto’s lips.

()()()

“Um,” Yuya says, blinking. “Is that…legal? …I don’t remember.”

Yuto frowns, looking up from his Xyz Monster. “What? Of course summoning is legal if you do it right. You’re good at this—you don’t know how to summon?”

Yuya lifts a hand to his still-bandaged temple. “It’s just—” He winces, a small gasp escaping his lips. “I’m sorry.”

Yuto shifts, wanting to do _something_ to help Yuya feel better, but he doesn’t know what. “We can put the match on hold, if you need more rest,” he offers. “And I can teach you how to Xyz Summon later. Maybe it’ll spur something in your head.”

Yuya frowns, but after a moment, he nods slowly. “Thanks. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Yuto says immediately. He stands and holds out his hand. “Come on. There’s a bedroom; I kept you out here to keep an eye on you, but I think you’ll probably rest better in there.”

Yuya nods again, his face a bit pale, and he reaches up to accept Yuto’s hand. His palms are a bit sweaty, his fingers a bit shaky, but all the same, Yuto holds on for an extra moment after he helps Yuya up.

()()()

Yuto stays up well into the night, and when a voice finally comes through the radio, he jumps and grabs it.

“Shun?” he says into the receiver. “What’s your status?”

“I’m on my way to base,” Shun says, barely audible through the static. It’s clear he’s trying to keep quiet. “Checking up on everyone else. You?”

“The safe house.” Yuya flashes in his mind, and Yuto opens his mouth, but he doesn’t have any idea how to start _that_ conversation.

“Good. Stay there,” Shun says. “I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

“Be careful, Shun,”

“You, too.”

Yuto turns off the radio and rests his elbows on his knees, pinching the bridge of his nose as a swirl of both relief and newfound worry twists his stomach.

()()()

His dreams are filled with darkness—shadows everywhere, accented by huge spouts of flame in the distance. There are screams, and glowing eyes, and Ruri runs away in front of him. He chases after her, extending his hand, but she doesn’t hear him warning her to stop, warning her to stay close to him, warning her to be careful of—

There’s a pressure on his cheek, and he blinks open his eyes, looking up to see Yuya staring down at him with his brows drawn together. He’s poking Yuto’s cheek; when he realizes that Yuto’s awake, he slowly pulls his hand away.

“Yuto?” he says. “I’m sorry—I thought you were…”

Yuto opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He blinks and he sees Ruri behind his eyelids, and his chest feels weighted down by the whole world. He rubs his hand over his face, letting his fingers hide the tears pooling in his eyes. “Just a dream,” he says.

He can sense Yuya standing there for another moment. He really doesn’t want to be seen crying, so he rubs his eyes, forcing a yawn. His back aches a little—he fell asleep sitting up in the chair—so he stretches his arms. It’s then he realizes that he’s half-wrapped in the blanket that he’s pretty sure he left on the couch. He glances at Yuya, and his whole body heats up.

“Do you need something?” he asks, and it comes out harsher than he intended.

Yuya looks down and presses his index fingers together. “Um, I was hoping—well, er…” His stomach growls, and he rubs the back of his neck. “…I don’t think I can cook.”

Yuto blinks, and then—all at once—a bubble of laughter escapes him. It surprises him, and Yuya by the way he jumps, but Yuto can’t stop. He puts a hand over his mouth, but all it does it make him smile under his fingers.

Yuya stares at him, and then, he breaks out into a smile and laughs as well.

()()()

Yuto finds himself disappointed when Yuya changes back into his old, clean clothes, but tries not to let it show. Yuya’s jacket is too torn up to really be worn, but he still puts it around his shoulders like a cape, or a blanket. Yuto finds the goggles and gives them back to him, and Yuya holds them in his hands, staring down at the broken lenses.

“Did you throw away the broken pieces?” Yuya asks, and Yuto nods.

Yuya’s brows furrow together as he holds it closer to his face. He points to a piece. “Is that blue paint?”

Yuto peers closer. “I think so.”

“Hmm…” He frowns, his eyes faraway, and Yuto doesn’t know what to do. Finally, Yuya sighs and pouts. “Guess I can’t really wear them when the lenses are broken like this. Guess I could pop out the plastic…” He smiles and rubs the back of his neck. “For some reason, I don’t really want to throw them away.”

Yuya pops out the plastic out of the broken lens; the other one is cracked, but not severely. He puts the goggles on his head and sets his hands on his hips. “Well?”

Yuto feels the corners of his lips turning upward. “Good.”

“Ah…” Yuya looks away and scratches his cheek. “Thank you.”

Neither say anything for a moment, and Yuto gestures to the table. “Do you want me to show you how to Xyz Summon again?”

Yuya beams. “Sure!”

()()()

Yuya grimaces. “Wow. You play a hard game.” Even after Xyz Summoning—with Yuto’s help—he’s being pushed into a corner.

“I never lose,” Yuto says.

“I guess not.” Yuya’s forced to end his turn, and Yuto takes out all his life points. However, Yuya still smiles and gives another bow, flourishing, and says: “Thank you very much.”

Yuto starts to clean up his cards, trying to keep the smile off his face at Yuya’s antics. “It’s getting late. Tomorrow we can duel again and I’ll try to show you some pointers.”

“Thank you!” Yuya smiles widely and collects his cards. “I can learn a lot from you.”

“You’ll need it,” Yuto says, and his movements slow, his hand coming to a stop on top of his deck. “You need to use all your power to make sure you aren’t destroyed.”

Neither say anything for a moment, but Yuto doesn’t notice. In his mind, there’s broken buildings and screaming children, and fire leaping into the air—

“…Yuto? Yuto?”

He shocks back into the moment, and he realizes that Yuya’s looking at him with a concerned expression. “Sorry,” he says, running a hand through his hair.

“Don’t be,” Yuya says quietly. “Are you okay?”

He can’t meet Yuya’s eyes. “It’s just…impossible. To forget about the war going on, I mean.”

Yuya bites his lip. “So it’s real, isn’t it?”

“…You really don’t remember anything, do you?” Yuto asks.

“I…don’t think so. No.” Yuya’s brows knit together. “I keep thinking about ‘Academia,’ but I really don’t know what or who you mean by that.”

Yuto clasps his hands together and looks down at his deck. He feels heavy—he can sense Yuya’s eyes on him, a weight of pressure that even until now he’s never really known before and he sure as hell doesn’t understand. “Duels aren’t for entertainment. Not anymore,” he says, and then quietly, he tells Yuya everything.

()()()

“Shun and I have been trying to find a way into the other dimensions,” he finishes. “We’re working with other duelists and scientists, and there may be a way—but we aren’t sure.”

Since the beginning of his explanation, Yuya has been quiet. He sits back, his shoulders slumped, and Yuto remembers that feeling all too well. That feeling was why he hardened himself, after all.

“So, you—you want to go to these other dimensions and fight,” Yuya says finally.

“Fight Academia, yes. We need to defeat them before they tear through the rest of Heartland. And…we need to find our friend.”

Yuya stares down at his hands. “Is that…Ruri?”

Yuto’s eyes widen. “How did you—?”

“Ah, sorry. You…said that name. While you were dreaming.”

Yuto didn’t think it was possible, but he can feel his heart break again—but it’s not just because he’s thinking about Ruri. He shakes his head, trying to block out the confusing emotion inside of him, and crosses his arms. He forces his words out: “You should get some rest. You’ll need it; as a duelist, you’ll need to keep up your strength in the battle against Academia. I don’t mind keeping you here until you’re healed, but after that, I need you to duel alongside us.”

Yuya puts his hand to his temple, gritting his teeth. “What good is dueling like it’s a war? Duels are supposed—they’re supposed to make people smile…”

Yuto takes a breath. “When you’ve recovered, I’ll show you. Just be ready to duel when that time comes.”

Yuya nods slowly. He stands. “I… Yuto?”

He’s getting a headache. He wishes this were a dream, that he could open his eyes and find Heartland shining around him, free from Academia duelists, and even free from this copy of him—there would be far less for him to be confused over if even just that last part were the case.

Immediately, a pang of guilt shoots through his heart as he looks up at Yuya. He hasn’t known Yuya for two days, and yet—and yet, he already can’t imagine Yuya being gone.

“What is it?”

“…Thank you.” He takes a breath. “But I agree. I need to see this for myself to understand. But whatever happens after that… I won’t forget your kindness.”

Yuya disappears into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Yuto stares at the wood for a long time.

_I’m sorry, Yuya._

()()()

Yuto naps until nightfall, and then stays by the door. After two hours of waiting, he hears footsteps above, and then knocking—two rapid strikes, and then two even ones.

He immediately unlocks the trap door, letting Shun inside, and then closes it behind him. “Shun!”

“It took me a bit to get back,” Shun explains, shedding his coat and dropping it to the floor. His shirt is speckled with dried blood, but nothing fresh, and Yuto breathes a sigh of relief. “I had to hide in an office building for the whole day yesterday before I could go to the base. Shit, I’m starving.”

“Take care of your wounds; I’ll grab something,” Yuto offers, and Shun nods before heading to the bathroom. Yuto hurries to the kitchen area to find something to make quickly, not for the first time wishing he could cook something proper, like curry.

Shun comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later, sans his shirt—although his ever-present duel-disk is strapped to his arm. There’s dirt and dried mud caked on his arms and even his stomach.

“Take a shower after you eat, Shun,” he says, scooping rice that he made earlier into a bowl. “You probably reek.”

Shun just scoffs and takes the bowl from him. “Thanks.” He grabs a pair of chopsticks and sits on the couch, eagerly digging in. Between bites, he says: “They’ve made a prototype. They’re just starting to test it.”

“Good.” Yuto leans against the wall. “We can’t lose focus. We should lay low until they really need us to cause a distraction from Academia.” When Shun scowls, he adds, “That doesn’t mean we won’t look for Ruri, but it’s obvious that she’s not _here_ anymore.”

Shun sighs. “I know, Yu—”

The bedroom door squeaks, and Yuya peers out. “Yuto…?”

Shun’s whole body tenses, and his gaze darts between Yuto and Yuya. He drops the bowl onto the table and stands, raising his left arm.

“Shun, stop!” Yuto shouts, holding out his hands, rushing to stand between Shun and the bedroom, where Yuya still stands frozen in the doorway. “He was injured in the explosion. I just brought him back here to treat him—I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Shun’s gritting his teeth, looking between the two of them almost constantly. “Why do you look so alike?”

Yuto shakes his head. “I’m not sure. But really, Shun—I think he hit his head pretty badly. He really doesn’t remember anything but his name. He doesn’t mean us any harm, trust me.”

Shun takes a step back, but he doesn’t relax. Yuto slowly turns and gestures. “Come on out, Yuya.”

For a moment, Yuya doesn’t move. Then, when he locks eyes with Yuto, he nods, and comes to stand close to his side.

“Yuya’s injured. See?” Yuto points to the bandages. “He was unconscious when he came here, so it’s not like he knows how to get out and tell Academia where we are.”

Shun runs a hand through his hair, scowling. “What the fuck is going on,” he mutters, but then he points a finger at Yuya. “You really don’t know why you look exactly like Yuto?”

Yuya shakes his head. He’s tense, and though Yuto was at first afraid that Yuya would crumble under Shun’s glare, now he’s afraid that Yuya will punch him in the face. “I just woke up here. Yuto explained things to me, but none of it seemed familiar—just dueling.”

Shun’s expression doesn’t go away, but his body relaxes just slightly, and he puts his hands on his hips. “…If you don’t help us after you’re healed, you can’t stay here. And if you do _anything_ that makes me suspect you, I’ll make you regret it.”

Yuya lifts his chin, and though he’s trembling, he’s staring straight back at Shun. “I understand.”

Yuto takes a breath, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “Let’s leave it alone for now, Shun. You’re probably exhausted. I’ll stay up.”

Shun nods, still scowling. “Just don’t let him do anything.”

()()()

The next day passes by all too slowly. Shun pulls out his portable radio—he’s also managed to nab extra batteries—and turns it on to tune to one of the frequencies the resistance uses. He listens mostly to static throughout the day while he trains his body with pushups and other indoor exercises. Yuto joins him for a little while, but goes to sleep on the couch in the afternoon.

When we wakes up, Yuya’s sitting in the chair, looking at his deck. He gives a small smile when he notices Yuto, but the expression doesn’t meet his eyes.

“Where’s Shun?” Yuto asks, sitting up.

“I think he’s cleaning up in the bathroom.” Now that Yuto focuses, he can hear running water.

Yuto rubs his eyes. “What is it? Are you hungry?”

“Well, yes,” Yuya admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “But that’s not it. I was thinking—I really want to see what’s happened to Heartland. Tonight.”

A shudder goes through Yuto, and he frowns. “Are you okay enough to go out?”

“I think so.” Yuya taps his head. “I, um, walked around the bedroom today and did some exercises. I think I’ll be fine if we don’t go too far.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

Yuya bites his lip, and then looks right into Yuto’s eyes—and Yuto feels pierced, like Yuya is staring straight into his soul. “It’s really important that I understand what’s going on. And… I promise I won’t strain myself. We’ll just go out and look—I’ll listen to everything you tell me to do. If what you say is all true…we won’t have to go far, right?”

Something inside Yuto wants to say no. Like letting Yuya see the horrors of the attack on Heartland will permanently wipe the smiles from his face—and somehow, at that moment, Yuto can hardly imagine anything worse. _But why do I care? I hardly know Yuya, even though he looks so much like me…_

But Yuya won’t stop looking at him like that, so all Yuto can do is nod. “All right.”

()()()

The carnage isn’t as awful as other nights. But there is still burning, and broken buildings, and cacophonous laughter in the distance, and shrill screams. Yuto leads Yuya to a rise not far from the residential district—an outlook that once provided a grand view of the grand city of Heartland. But now, there isn’t anything to see but disaster.

Yuya stumbles forward, his legs weak and his eyes wide. Yuto follows close behind him, wanting to give him distance but afraid of what he’ll do. Shun is a small ways back, keeping watch with his duel disk at the ready, but honestly, Yuto feels like the only person near to him is Yuya.

Just when Yuya starts to take a step forward, Yuto reaches out and grasps his wrist.

Yuya immediately whips around, his red eyes wide and his face pale and his whole body shaking. He doesn’t move, only stares like a frightened animal; he tries to speak, but hardly anything comes out of his mouth.

“Yuya,” Yuto says, and it’s all he can do to keep his voice from breaking. “Believe me, I want to rush out and help too—but there are hardly any Heartland duelists left. Do you understand?”

It’s then that the tears start to roll down Yuya’s face, and in that moment, all Yuto wants to do is wipe them away. He raises his hand, but hesitates, and in that moment as he watches Yuya pulls his half-broken goggles down over his eyes, everything clicks together.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help stop this,” Yuya declares, clenching his fists. “I promise you, Yuto. We’ll stop Academia.”

And Yuto can’t stop the tears that fall from his eyes. _I love you._

But all he says is: “Thank you, Yuya.”

()()()

Yuya throws himself into training alongside both Yuto and Shun. Coming up with strategies, figuring out the exact details of Xyz Summoning. He even works out, though Yuto always has to remind him not to push his body too hard.

Yuto wonders whether he should feel weird. After all, he’s in love with not just someone who has no memories, but someone who looks exactly like him. But when he looks at Yuya, he doesn’t see a clone of himself, or something. He just sees Yuya—a hardworking, earnest, smiling boy.

He wants to kiss that smile.

Yuto can’t help the thoughts that pass through his mind, particularly when Yuya trains with Shun. Watching his muscles move, seeing him sweat, hearing his labored breathing—Yuto has to focus very hard on other things to keep himself from getting aroused. It’s incredibly difficult to be in such a small space with him.

At the very least, in the days that pass, Shun’s guard drops around Yuya, and he’s only an asshole every once in a while. Yuto can’t help but be happy at that change in pace.

And then, one afternoon while Yuya is showering, Shun pulls Yuto aside and speaks quietly.

“What’s going on with you?”

Yuto frowns. “What do you mean?”

Shun crosses his arms. “You know. You’ve been acting weird ever since Yuya came here. He’s not doing something to you, right?”

Yuto tries not to fluster. _Am I really that transparent?_ “No. It’s just—it’s different with another person here.”

“That’s not it, is it?” Shun asks. When Yuto doesn’t answer, he sighs. “Yuto—you’re my best friend. I just want to make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

That makes Yuto smile. “I know. And thank you, Shun. I don’t know what I’d do without you, either.”

“Shut up.”

“Heh.”

()()()

And then, on Shun’s radio, word comes from the base: There’s a major attack underway at one of the refugee camps.

The three rush out into the night, Shun taking the lead. Yuto sticks close to Yuya, making sure that he isn’t pushing himself too hard. But the recovery and training has paid off, and Yuya keeps pace with them, only slipping up with his unfamiliarity with the territory.

The refugee camp is a mess, tents torn and trampled, and fires blazing. The Heartlandians flee, but almost wherever they go is another Academia soldier, grinning wildly as they turn person after person into a card.

Yuto scowls and hardens himself, all too familiar with the sight, but then—his heart leaps into his throat—Yuya screams and starts his duel disk. Yuto hurriedly joins in, not wanting to leave him to duel alone against Academia.

It’s different, and it’s terrifying, watching Yuya duel now. Where once he would smile and bow and call to an imaginary audience, now he can hardly do more than growl and threaten the soldier. And although Yuto understands that emotion far too well, seeing it come from Yuya of all people makes him think that the world must be ending.

“Yuya!” Yuto grabs his arm, and Yuya turns his glare on him, and it freezes him in place.

“What?!” Yuya demands, panting. His frenzy has made his dueling rushed and heated, but it’s left him weak and with fewer life points than Yuto would like. “What do you want?!”

“Calm down, Yuya!” Yuto snaps, holding on tightly when Yuya tries to wrench his arm away. “You can’t fight like this or you’ll die!”

“Shut up! I’m doing just fine!”

“I can’t let you die!” Yuto yells, but in the next moment, he’s blown back, for a moment weightless. And then he hits the ground, rolling, and he can feel the life points drain from his total, down into the red.

“YUTO!”

Yuto coughs, his whole body aching and hurting, and he lifts himself up on shaky arms. He squints, watching Yuya reach toward the sky.

“ _Pendulum Summon_!” he yells, and the air itself lights up blue.

()()()

When Yuto comes to, for a moment, he thinks he must be trapped inside a card.

He panics, tensing up, his eyes searching the room. Instantly someone is at his side, holding onto his arm and talking to him. But he can’t hear, can’t think of anything but the fear and the battle and _Yuya fighting alone—_

“Yuya?!” he gasps. “Where’s Yuya?!”

“Yuto, calm down,” Shun says. “You’re safe. Yuya’s okay.”

Yuto looks up into Shun’s eyes, and finally, he starts to feel rooted to reality. His fingers grip the sheets beneath him, and he slowly measures out his breathing. “Where are we?”

“The base. You passed out, but Yuya kept you safe until I could get to you two.” Shun takes a step back and grabs a cup of water, holding it out to him.

Yuto sits up and sips from the cup. His body feels so heavy, so stiff, and part of him just wants to fall back asleep. But of course, he can’t do that. “Where did Yuya go?”

Shun’s hand balls into a fist. “…They’re examining him.”

The words don’t compute for a moment. “What?”

“Yuto… They think he’s from Standard. He used a summoning method no one’s ever seen before, and the energy coming off him—it’s not from here, or from Fusion.”

“Then how did he…” Yuto shakes his head, then moves to get up. Shun grabs him by the shoulder to stop him.

“I vouched for him, so they don’t think he’s a spy or anything.” Shun seems pissed just to admit that. “But they don’t want anyone to see him right now.”

“Damn what they want,” Yuto hisses, brushing away Shun’s hand. He stands, and he’s a bit unsteady. “I need to see that he’s okay.”

“Wait,” Shun says. “There’s something else.”

Yuto glares at him. “What else could there be?”

“This.” Shun holds out a black duel disk. “It’s one of the prototypes. If you have the right coordinates, you can jump dimensions.”

“And?” Yuto stares at it. “They’re giving me one?”

“Us,” Shun clarifies. “We can use it to go together. To find Ruri. And…” Shun holds up a card: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. “This is a copy of Yuya’s. We can use this to get to his dimension.”

“What?” Yuto blinks. And then, his stomach drops. “You don’t mean…”

“It’s an option,” Shun says, firmly but quietly. “I’m not an idiot, Yuto, no matter how much you may call me one. I don’t really understand how it happened, but I can see that Yuya really means a lot to you.” He pauses. “There’s apparently no war in Standard.”

Yuto’s knees feel week, and he sits back on the bed. His hands curl into fists, fingers digging into the fabric of his pants. “But then…”

“It’s your choice. He’s a fine duelist—when he’s got a cool head—so I wouldn’t mind it if he still fought with us.” Shun holds out the dimensional duel disk, and his next words are deep and quiet. “But if something happened to him, you would never forgive yourself. I don’t—I don’t want to see you go through that again.”

“I…”

“It’s your choice, Yuto.”

Slowly, Yuto reaches out and takes the duel disk, and the copy of Yuya’s card. He holds them in both hands and looks down at them. “…I’ll think about it.”

()()()

“Yuto!” Yuya cries out, and his arms latch around Yuto’s body. Yuto stands stock-still, blinking, and then returns the embrace, relishing in Yuya’s warmth, and the beating of his heart against his chest. That warm feeling flashes through Yuto’s body, and he lets go, afraid that he’ll become flustered or worse.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he says, his voice hoarse.

Yuya wipes at his eye with a fist, then lowers his half-broken goggles down over his eyes. “O-of course I am. I’m just—I’m just glad you’re okay.”

There’s nothing more that Yuto wants to do than pull Yuya back into his arms, but the weight of the dimensional duel disk is heavy in his pocket. He just smiles. “You could use some rest, couldn’t you? Let’s go back.”

()()()

The scientists and higher-ups don’t deem Yuya as a dangerous person in any form, and they even welcome him into the resistance. But they let him and Yuto return back to the safe house—the base has become crowded with refugees from the camp, leaving little space—although Shun stays behind, claiming that he’ll help with the efforts. But Yuto isn’t stupid.

The trek back is hurried and mostly silent, the two of them unwilling to draw any attention. They make it back to the safe house within about an hour, and Yuya, gasping a bit, collapses on the couch while Yuto locks the trap door.

“It feels like it’s been forever,” Yuya says, nearly moaning.

“It has,” Yuto agrees. He hasn’t turned around.

“…Hey, Yuto?” Yuya says softly, and there’s awe in his voice. “Did you see me do that summon?”

His heart grows warm again, and he finally looks at Yuya. “Pendulum Summoning? It was the last thing I saw before I blacked out. It was amazing.”

“Yeah.” Yuya pulls out his deck and looks at it, smiling. “I don’t really know how I did it—but it felt familiar. The scientists at the base kept asking me how I did it, but I couldn’t explain it. I think it made them frustrated.”

“I’ve never seen it before.” Yuto slowly comes over to sit on the edge of the couch; Yuya folds his legs up to make room. “You should’ve told me you had something up your sleeve earlier.”

“Heh,” Yuya laughs, immediately getting the joke. But then, his smile fades. His eyes lock with Yuto’s. “I’m…sorry. I don’t know what came over me during that duel.”

Yuto shakes his head. “I forgive you. The first time I fought an Academia soldier… I can’t say I was much different.”

“Still… I upset you.” He looks away. “I’m sorry.”

“Yuya…” And Yuto’s heart drops. His eyes water, and he struggles to keep them from overflowing. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Yuya slowly sits up, staring straight at him. “I don’t want you to get hurt, either.”

Yuto bites his lip, and then closes his eyes. _I’m sorry, Yuya._

He pulls out the dimensional duel disk. Yuya’s brows furrow curiously, and he leans in closer. “What’s that?”

“A new prototype,” Yuto says, strapping it to his wrist. “Come closer and look.”

He’s already so close that Yuya has to rest his chin on Yuto’s shoulder to do as he says. Yuto relishes the sensation for a moment, then pulls out the copy of Odd-Eyes and slots it into the disk.

In an instant, the room around them is gone, and they’re sitting on a bench, at the top of a building. A blue, nearly cloudless sky stretches out above them; in the distance is a tall building with giant letters that read LDS.

Yuya jumps, looking around. “Whoa—what?!” He blinks his wide eyes with wonderment, and Yuto can’t blame him. To him, it’s nothing like Heartland once was—but at the same time, it’s everything he wants it to become.

Yuto stands, taking a few steps away. “This is the Standard Dimension. All types of summoning methods can be found here.”

“Really?” Yuya’s voice is a mixture of confusion and excitement. “I mean, you told me as much—but really? This is Standard?”

Yuto’s nails dig into the palm of his left hand. With his right, he pulls out his own card, one that will take him back to Heartland. “Isn’t it beautiful? There’s no war here. It’s so peaceful.”

“It is,” Yuya agrees, and Yuto can hear his footsteps.

 _Please don’t come closer,_ he begs silently, but he can’t bring himself to leave just yet.

He turns around and tries to smile. “I know you don’t remember it, Yuya, but we figured it out by the energy you used to summon. This is your home.”

Yuya’s mouth falls open. “Really?” He looks around. “I thought it looked familiar. Like I dreamed it, or something.”

He wants to cry. “What’s with the lukewarm reaction?” he half-jokes. “Your family is probably out there somewhere looking for you.”

 _That_ freezes Yuya. He scratches his cheek. “I know… I wondered if I have one,” he admits quietly. “I wondered if they worried about me.”

“I’m sure they do.”

“Yuto?”

His voice almost breaks. “Yes?”

“I’m—I’m nervous.” He takes a step forward. “To meet them, I mean. Will you go with me?”

And then, Yuto can’t hold it in anymore. A sob tears from his throat, and tears falls from his eyes. Yuya startles, holding out his hands, but doesn’t move.

“I can’t, Yuya,” Yuto says, and he pulls out his Xyz card. “Goodbye.”

“Yuto—Yuto?!” Yuya cries out, running forward, reaching, and Yuto places his card in the duel disk.

()()()

The next thing he knows, he’s fallen backward onto the lumpy couch, and there’s a heavy weight on top of him.

“ _Yuto!_ ” Yuya yells, grabbing his shoulders. His eyes are fiery and livid and wet. “What the _hell_ was that?!”

Yuto stares up at him, his mouth agape. “I just—Yuya—if you got hurt here, I couldn’t…”

“No,” Yuya snaps, and he unstraps the duel disk from Yuto’s arm before throwing it across the room. “You’re not leaving me. I won’t leave you.”

“Yuya,” Yuto argues, but before he can say anything more, Yuya takes him by the jaw and kisses him deeply.

Yuto tenses, unsure of what’s happening. He blinks, and then, slowly, Yuya’s warmth and his soft lips and his hot, wet tongue relax him, and he clutches Yuya’s shoulders, pulling him close.

Finally, Yuya pulls back, panting—but Yuto’s panting, too. Tears leak down Yuya’s face, and then when he kisses Yuto again, Yuto can taste the salt.

The kiss is shorter this time, and when Yuya pulls back, he shakes his head. “I promised you, Yuto. I promised I’d fight with you. I know there must be people waiting for me, but—but I can’t go back yet. Yuto… I love you.”

And that all-encompassing warmth fills Yuto’s chest, so fully that he swears he could burst apart and still be happy. “I love you too, Yuya. I’m sorry. I just wanted you to be safe.”

Yuya doesn’t speak for a moment. His eyes widen, and his breathing hitches, and Yuto wonders if he’s feeling that same heat in his heart. Then: “You love me?”

Yuto nods. “I fell in love with you, Yuya.” He reaches up to stroke his soft cheek. “You made me smile.”

Yuya gives a quivering smile, the tears still trickling down his face. “I was afraid you were in love with—with Ruri, or with Shun. I was too scared to tell you.”

A small laugh escapes him. “Yuya. Yuya—Yuya, I love _you_ , and only _you._ They’re my best friends, but you’re…you’re that and more to me.”

He reaches up to cup Yuya’s face with both hands, and he pulls Yuya down for another kiss. He nips at Yuya’s lip, then pushes his tongue into Yuya’s mouth. Yuya moans, and one of his hands brushes up under Yuto’s shirt across his stomach. Yuto shivers, and all he can think is _please, more._

Yuya mirrors his thoughts just a moment later, when he pulls away for air: “Please, Yuto. Let me touch you.”

He smiles. “So long as we get off this couch and into the bedroom.”

Yuya laughs. “All right,” he says. “The fun is about to begin.”

He scrambles off Yuto, pulling him up. He leads the way into the bedroom, holding his hand tightly, and Yuto gently pushes him back against the bed. Yuya’s forced to sit, but he grabs onto Yuto’s tie, pulling him down for another kiss. Kisses with Yuya are intoxicating—deep and warm and addictive. Yuto traces patterns on Yuya’s stomach, slowly moving upward and pulling Yuya’s shirt along with his hands.

When Yuto pulls off Yuya’s shirt, Yuya’s cheeks go pink, and he instinctively lowers his goggles. Yuto laughs and gently pulls them off.

“Please let me look at you,” he says, kissing Yuya’s eyelids. “My sweet Yuya.”

Yuya shivers, reaching out to grab Yuto’s arms for stability. “Yuto…”

Yuto can’t help the small moan that comes out of his mouth, and he pecks Yuya’s lips. “Please say my name more,” he begs, then moves to kiss Yuya’s jaw, his cheek, his ear.

“Yuto, Yuto,” Yuya gasps. He pulls Yuto against him, so much so that Yuto has to kneel on the bed. He takes advantage of Yuto’s momentary lapse to pull his tie and shirt off, and then his fingers trace over Yuto’s scars.

“When I first saw these, I wanted to do just this,” Yuya admits, his eyes half-lidded and his voice rough. With his arms around Yuto’s torso, he leans in close and darts out his tongue, following the lines of his scars.

“Yuya…!” Yuto throws his head back, groaning, pushing himself against Yuya. Yuya swirls his tongue across his abs, across his chest, and when he gets to Yuto’s nipple, he circles it once before he sucks on it. Yuto _whines_ , bucking his hips forward, and Yuya laughs before moving to work with Yuto’s belt.

“Wait, wait,” Yuto gasps, putting his hand on Yuya’s shoulder. Yuya stops at once, looking up with confusion. Yuto just gently pushes him down, following closely, and with soft, wet kisses, he makes his way down Yuto’s arm, ending with the tip of each finger. Yuya’s face goes completely pink, and he squirms, but Yuto just ends up moving down the other arm in exactly the same way.

“Yuto, what are you doing?” Yuya asks, and Yuto’s pretty sure Yuya doesn’t know whether to laugh or moan or beg for more kisses and touches.

“Loving you,” Yuto answers simply, then starts at Yuya’s clavicle and works his way downward. But around Yuya’s chest, he uses his teeth, nipping just lightly enough to make Yuya shiver and pant in a way he hasn’t yet. Yuto’s arousal is at full hardness, almost feeling like it’s pulsing, and his whole body feels so hot, but he can wait longer if it means he’ll hear more of Yuya’s sweet, sweet moaning.

“Yuto…” Yuya digs his fingers into Yuto’s hair. “I love you—so much, ahh…”

“I love you too,” Yuto says in-between kisses and nips, and he unbuckles Yuya’s belt, pulling down his pants and finding Yuya’s erection straining against his briefs. Softly, he brushes his finger against the outside, and Yuya _whines_ , his fingers digging into Yuto’s hair in such a good way.

Yuto pulls down Yuya’s briefs, releasing his member, and Yuto smiles when he realizes that they aren’t all that different down below, either. He blows on it softly, making Yuya shiver, and then gently kisses at the base.

“Y-Yuto,” Yuya gasps. “Ohh, oh god, Yuto, please…”

Yuto glances up, so entranced by his lover’s face—he slowly kisses his way up further and further, holding Yuya’s hips to keep him from bucking. He reaches the tip, wrapping his lips around it, and Yuya cries out.

“Oh, Yuto—Yuto, wait,” Yuya sobs, and Yuto immediately stands up, getting back up on the bed and leaning over Yuya to caress his cheek.

“Are you okay?” he asks worriedly. “I’m sorry—”

Yuya shuts him up by—of all things—licking him on the cheek. Yuto’s eyes go wide, the skin on his face, neck, and chest reddening, and he trembles. Yuya grins at the sight and kisses him deeply but quickly, and his hand moves southward, slipping underneath Yuto’s pants and underwear to lightly touch his member.

“Yuto,” he begs. “I want to come together. Will you do that for me?”

Yuto snaps out of his shock, but the blush doesn’t leave. “I wanted to watch you come undone…”

“No one’s saying you can’t do that,” Yuya points out, and his free hand cups Yuto’s cheek. “You can go down on me all you want after our first time.”

Yuto lets out a breath, and he kisses Yuya’s forehead. “Anything for you.”

He leans back to let Yuya sit up and take off his pants. Yuya smiles and tugs lightly at the end of Yuto’s boxers. “We differ here, I guess.”

He doesn’t leave Yuto any time to reply; instead, he carefully puts his hand between Yuto’s legs, brushing against his balls. Yuto shudders, holding onto Yuya’s shoulders for balance, and Yuya kisses his arm as he traces his way up Yuto’s member, feeling the outline before he takes Yuto’s boxers and pulls them off. His erection comes free, and Yuya gently takes it into his hand— _fuck_ , his hand feels so much like Yuto’s own, but so much softer—and pumps.

Yuto moans his name and rests his head against Yuya’s shoulder, panting against him. Yuya licks his ear, and Yuto swears he’s _this_ close to coming—

All at once, Yuya stops, flopping back onto the bed, and Yuto just barely keeps himself from falling onto him. He frowns at Yuya in confusion, but Yuya just laughs and shifts, making his way a bit closer to the head of the bed, since they’re dangerously close to sliding off. He gestures with his finger, and Yuto laughs, crawling over him once again and leaning down to give Yuya a deep kiss.

Yuya follows him this time when he tries to pull away for air. Yuto has to gasp for it, since Yuya’s tongue is still practically in his mouth, but he doesn’t mind—it makes everything hotter, everything more close and wonderful.

 _I love you,_ he thinks, his mind so hazy with heat and lust and pure feeling. _I love you, I love you, I love you so much…_

He straddles Yuya’s hips, pressing their erections together, and at once, they both wrap one hand around their cocks, holding them against each other. Yuya has to laugh at that, and Yuto isn’t far behind, but then they both groan when Yuto starts to pump.

“Yuto,” Yuya moans, kissing Yuto’s lips and trying to do so deeply, but he’s panting too hard. “Yuto…”

Yuto leans his forehead against Yuya’s, doing his best to keep his eyes open to watch Yuya as he pumps and pumps, spreading their precum down their members. Their movements and their bucking become slick, and Yuto could be drunk off the feeling and the sounds of it and Yuya’s constant moaning.

“Yuya…! Yuya,” he groans, and when he says “I love you” yet again, Yuya gasps Yuto’s name, his expression going slack, and his seed erupts onto their stomachs. The sight and the feeling leaves Yuto with just one more pump, and he comes, doubling the mess.

Yuto collapses against Yuya, too spent and too pleasured to do anything else for the moment, and Yuya wraps his arms around him, holding him close—though at least he has the decency to wipe his hand on the sheets. Yuto chuckles and does the same, softly kissing Yuya’s neck and even nibbling on it.

“I love you, Yuto,” Yuya whispers.

Just hearing him say that—so breathless, so spent—sends a pulse straight to Yuto’s cock. He kisses Yuya’s ear and murmurs, “I love you so much. My Yuya…”

“My Yuto,” Yuya repeats, and he licks Yuto’s cheek again to get him to look at him—then kisses him deeply. Yuto moans and doesn’t even consider pulling away.

()()()

Yuya is so, so sleepy in the morning, which makes Yuto’s job easier.

He helps Yuya shower—which includes a lot of caressing and touching and kissing—and once they’re dry, he makes Yuya get back into his clothes.

“But that’ll just get in the way,” Yuya moans sleepily. One or two orgasms seems to make him especially drowsy.

The words make Yuto blush. “What if Shun comes back?” he asks pointedly, pulling Yuya’s shirt on for him.

“He certainly won’t be sleeping with us in the bed,” Yuya mutters, almost as if Shun were some kind of pet, and Yuto laughs.

Yuya pulls on his pants and then flops straight back into bed. “Okay, okay,” he yawns. He opens up his arms. “Cuddle me, Yuto.”

Yuto smiles and does just that, wrapping his arms around Yuya while Yuya leans his head against his chest. Yuto strokes his hair and his face, and Yuya smiles, snuggling against him.

“I love you, Yuto,” he murmurs, yawning.

Yuto kisses his forehead. “I love you, Yuya.”

Yuto waits for him to fall asleep, and then waits for a little longer. Then, slowly, he pulls the cracked dimensional duel disk from his pocket and straps it to Yuya’s arm. Yuya fidgets in his sleep, but doesn’t wake up.

There’s a memo already saved in the duel disk: _Forgive me, Yuya. I will see you again, I promise._

Yuto carefully pulls away from Yuya and off the bed. This time, Yuya really squirms, groaning, and moves his arm. “Yuto…”

“I love you, Yuya,” Yuto whispers again, and carefully, he puts Yuya’s card in the duel disk and quickly pulls his hand away.

And then, he’s alone. 


	2. Part II: Yuya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how Disney sometimes puts out sequels that are actually good but they still aren't as good as the original? Yeah that's how I feel here. I really liked the first chapter as a one-shot (and I still like to think of it as one) but I really couldn't leave it alone. I really wanted to know what happened to Yuya.....plus I wanted to write the angst....so we've got this. Hope you enjoy.
> 
> Also the porn with plot still applies so there's a masturbation scene and a sex scene. Have fun I guess.
> 
> (Also, the me who wrote the first chapter was so, so naive. Here I am, post Arc-V...........and I'm dead. Counterpart is the only thing keeping me alive. Anyway. Enjoy.)

“Yuto…?”

Yuya blinks, and Yuto isn’t there. Below him is grey, and above him is blue dotted with white, and, in the distance, is that tall LDS skyscraper.

“Yuto?!” Yuya sits up immediately, whipping his head around and around. He’s on a rooftop—that same rooftop—and there’s no one around him. From far away, he can hear car horns honking and people talking and laughing and going about their lives.

“Yuto!” he calls again, a desperate need clutching his heart and making him shaky, making him dizzy. There’s no answer.

He looks down at his hands, and there are two duel disks on his arm. The one of the left is his—the one on the right is black duel disk, the screen cracked but still reading out quite clearly: _DIMENSIONAL JUMP SUCCESSFUL._

Yuya stares at it, his mouth falling open. Then, all at once, he’s tapping the screen, searching through the menus and looking for some kind of way to undo what’s been done, or some sort of instructions. There are none—all that’s written in it is a memo: _Forgive me, Yuya. I will see you again, I promise._

“What the hell, Yuto,” Yuya whispers, but he’s already pulling out his deck from his pocket. One by one he feeds—or rather, stuffs—his cards into the reader, checking the screen for any sort of change. But all that pops up is _STANDARD ACHIEVED. STANDARD ACHIEVED. STANDARD ACHIEVED._

His hands become more and more shaky, and his vision blurs, and he suddenly he’s out of cards. “S-shit,” he says, and he grabs a few more cards from the top of his deck to insert them again, barely able to fit them into the slot. There’s still no change.

“Yuto—Yuto, please,” Yuya begs, but of course, no one is there to hear him. Tears fall from his eyes, running down his cheeks, spattering onto his clothes and his hands. “Please…”

Finally, his hands slow to a stop, and he stares at the duel disk. He doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, hardly even thinks. Only his tears continue to fall freely, seemingly endless.

All at once, a red haze fills Yuya’s vision, and he rips the black duel disk off his arm. He stands, unsteady, and stumbles toward the fence at the edge of the rooftop. He grips the duel disk hard in his hand, rolls his arm back, and then—and then—

He stops.

He falls back to his knees, all the anger leaving him at once, leaving his lungs feeling weak. He pulls the duel disk close to his chest and hugs it tightly.

()()()

Yuya’s head swims as he walks down the street, still holding the duel disk against his chest. He bites his lip, and his brows are furrowed as he looks at all the people walking through the streets. Little kids in their yellow kindergarten hats walking home. Men and women with shopping bags leaving the department and convenience stores, grandparents with their grandchildren, mothers with their sons and daughters. They’re all chatting and laughing, so blissful and carefree.

In his head he sees fire and wrecked buildings and the Academia soldiers, grinning as they lay waste to Heartland and its people. _Is this real?_ he wonders, unable to wrap his mind around the fact that this place in Standard—so familiar to him, but yet not—is at peace.

Yuya blinks, and he sees Yuto.

He stops dead in his tracks and whirls to the right, searching for that face—and he realizes that the hair is a mop of red and green. It’s his own face, not Yuto’s, and it’s on a poster affixed to the window of a convenience store.

 _Have you seen this boy?_ the kanji, complete with furigana, reads above his brightly smiling face. Below it is his name and age—seventeen, a number he actually didn’t realize he forgot until just now—and a date when he was last seen. Yuya doesn’t know what the day is, but he’s pretty sure it’s spring—since he’s not freezing or sweating buckets in Japan’s ridiculous humidity—so he can’t have been missing for too long.

He stares at the smile and it reminds him far more of Yuto than it does himself.

A shudder runs through his body, and he looks at the people walking past. One or two give him curious glances, and he turns away quickly, hurrying down the sidewalk. He reaches the corner, but the light is red. He enters the crowd waiting to cross the street and lowers his head, hunching his shoulders, hoping—

“Yuya?!”

The voice is deep, booming, and so familiar—just like everything else in this _dreamscape_ —that he can’t help but look up. A white-clad teen, just about as stocky as a full-grown man, cuts through the crowd toward him, and his mouth hangs open.

“Yuya?!” he calls again. “Yuya!”

And then Yuya is swept up into the boy’s crushing embrace, and he gasps, all the air leaving his lungs. The boy weeps openly, causing the crowd around them to disperse.

“Yuya! The man Gongenzaka has been looking for you all this time! We’ve all been so worried about you! But I never gave up hope that we would find you!”

He finally pulls away, and Yuya takes a deep breath, filling his lungs. The boy takes him by the shoulders and moves him to face him. The sheer amount of tears on his face reminds Yuya of a river.

“Where have you been?” the boy asks.

Yuya’s mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

The boy frowns. “Yuya? What’s wrong?”

“Who…” Yuya stares at him. “Who are you?”

“T-the man Gongenzaka, of course!” he booms, jerking his thumb at his chest, but the smile on his face doesn’t meet his eyes. “Your best friend, remember?”

Yuya tries to form words, but it takes a moment for words to finally come out. “I’m sorry… Gongenzaka. I don’t—I can barely remember anything.”

“Yuya…” Gongenzaka just stares at him. “Is this one of your entertainment tricks?”

Yuya shakes his head.

Gongenzaka pauses, and then he pulls Yuya against his side. “Come on. I’ll call your mom and take you home.”

“My mom?” Yuya echoes, but Gongenzaka is already pulling out his duel disk to make the call. It’s then that Yuya realizes that all this time, he’s been clutching onto the black duel disk. He reluctantly pockets it, afraid that Gongenzaka will notice and ask him about it—or worse, take it from him.

Gongenzaka starts to lead him, and someone must have answered his call, because he starts talking into his duel disk. “Sakaki-san, I found Yuya. Yes. Yes, he’s all right, but—there’s—yes, ma’am, I’m taking him to your house. Oh, of course. Yuya?”

Yuya startles when Gongenzaka holds out his duel disk. “What?”

“Your mom wants to talk to you.”

Yuya dry-swallows, and he reaches out a shaky hand to take the duel disk. He puts it up to his ear. “…Hello?”

“ _Yuya!_ ” The woman’s voice is familiar, at least—but still, that dreamlike quality persists, and Yuya can’t place a face to his mother. “ _Oh God, Yuya, I was so worried about you!_ ”

“Mom?”

“ _What is it, Yuya?”_

“I… I’ll see you soon,” he says, because it’s the only truth that he really knows right now.

_“I’ll be home soon, sweetie—where are you? Are you close to home?”_

“I-I don’t know.”

_“What? Yuya, are you okay?”_

“Y-yeah, Mom.” He’s not. “I’m just—I’m just tired, I guess.”

_“Yuya… Give the phone back to Gon-chan, okay? I’ll talk to you again in a second.”_

“Okay,” Yuya says, and he holds the duel disk back up to Gongenzaka. “She wants to talk to you.”

Gongenzaka takes the duel disk back and speaks into it, but Yuya doesn’t listen, instead focusing on where they are. The city buildings are slowly becoming smaller, turning into apartment buildings. Another block away seems to be the more suburban area.

He remembers the dingy basement with its three meager rooms, the lumpy couch, and that bed that was barely big enough to hold both him and Yuto. His face flames and he looks down at his feet, trying to think of anything but the ways Yuto kissed him all over his body.

_Where are you, Yuto? Is any of this….real?_

Gongenzaka puts the duel disk in front of his face again, and Yuya blinks, coming back to the moment. He takes it. “Yes?”

_“Gon-chan says you guys are close. I’ll be home real soon, and I’ll make you some pancakes. How does that sound?”_

It isn’t until she says _pancakes_ that Yuya realizes how hungry he is. “Yes, please,” he says quietly.

His mother pauses. _“I’ll see you soon, Yuya-chan.”_

She hangs up, and Yuya hands the duel disk back to Gongenzaka, who pockets it. He still holds Yuya tightly against him, and Yuya finds that he’s grateful for the support.

()()()

When they finally come to what Yuya presumes is his house, the door opens, and a blonde woman rushes out. Yuya has just enough time to process what her face looks like before she scoops him up into her arms, twirling him around.

“W-what?!” he yells out, but then she stops and gives him a hug—not nearly as crushing as Gongenzaka’s, but it still leaves Yuya breathless.

And finally, something doesn’t just feel familiar, but feels _right_.

Even though he doesn’t really remember, even though he can’t even recall her first name, Yuya puts his arms around her and returns the embrace. “Mom…”

“I love you so much, Yuya,” she says into his ear, and then she kisses his forehead. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he says when she pulls away, and he realizes that, in a way, it’s true.

“Come on,” she says, grabbing Yuya’s wrist. “I’ll make you pancakes. Do you want some, Gon-chan?”

“Ah—maybe it would be better if I went home,” Gongenzaka says, glancing at Yuya. “Yuya needs rest.”

She nods. “That’s fine. You can tell everyone that Yuya is okay for me. I’m sure once Yuya is feeling more up to it, you, Sora-chan and Yuzu-chan can come back and see him.”

Gongenzaka nods, and as his mom pulls him inside the house, Yuya looks back at him. His supposed best friend stands stiff and still, but his eyes are filled with a deep worry that unnerves Yuya.

()()()

“Go sit at the table,” his mother says, hurrying into the adjoining kitchen. A few fluffy, tiny dogs skitter around her legs, begging for scraps. “The pancakes will be done faster than you can say ‘Action Duel’!”

“Action Duel?” Yuya repeats under his breath. The words roll easily off his tongue, but he can’t figure out their meaning. He sits at the table and finds that his mother left her purse on it. He glances at her, but she’s busy at the stove; he reaches in to grab her wallet, and he opens it, finding her ID: _Sakaki Yoko_.

A deep shame rolls over him—that he couldn’t remember her name, that he couldn’t simply admit it and ask her—and he hurriedly puts her wallet back inside her purse.

“Are you thirsty?” she calls.

He realizes that he can’t remember the last time he drank something. “Yes,” he calls, and she grabs a carton from the fridge and pours milk into a glass. She comes over to set it in front of him, and he takes a big gulp—it’s delicious, and so much better than the lukewarm water he’s been drinking for well over a week.

He’s about to keep drinking when Yuto’s voice echoes in his head. _Sips. Don’t make yourself sick._

A pang shoots through his heart, and he puts the glass down. One of the dogs nudges his foot, and he looks down, meeting its eyes. It wags its tail, and he smiles—just barely—and reaches down to pet its head.

“Ta-daa!” Yoko calls, and with a flourish she puts down a plate of pancakes in front of Yuya. “Dig in! There’s more where that came from.”

Yuya cuts into it and pops a piece into his mouth. Immediately, he shoves more and more into his mouth, both famished and so, so happy to be eating something so delicious.

Yoko sits down across from him, resting her chin in her hands. As she watches him, her eyes brim with tears, but it doesn’t diminish her smile.

“Are you tired, Yuya?” she asks after he’s eaten two plates of pancakes and he’s sitting back, a hand resting over his full stomach.

He comes back to the present. “Well… Kinda,” he says. He pauses. “I just feel…out of it.”

“Yuya?”

He looks at her and bites his lip. “Yes?”

“Get some rest, okay?” she says. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll always be right here for you.”

()()()

Yoko takes him to his room, and it’s then that Yuya realizes that Gongenzaka probably told her about how he couldn’t remember anything. She fusses about a bit, getting him extra blankets and making sure his pillow is fluffy enough, as if taking a nap were the most important thing Yuya could ever do.

“Do you want any of the dogs?” she asks, one hand on the doorknob.

He hesitates. “No, not now.”

“Okay.” She gives him one last smile, then ducks out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Yuya turns around slowly, taking stock of his room. A twin bed in one corner, a desk not too far away, and a big window in between. The walls are covered in posters, all of them having to do with dueling—and several are of a man that Yuya _knows_ he should know, but he can’t place him.

Next to Yuya’s desk, facing his bed, is a tall mirror. Yuya hesitates, then moves to stand in front of it.

“Yuto?” he whispers, but his reflection mirrors his movements exactly and doesn’t talk back. He touches the mirror, aiming for Yuto’s—his—cheek, and places his palm flat against it.

Tears leak out of his eyes, and he rubs at his face with a fist. But still, an overwhelming fatigue washes over him. He turns to his bed and crawls under the sheets, laying on his side. Something hard pokes into his leg, and he pulls the black duel disk out of his pocket.

A whimper escapes his lips, and he holds it tight to his chest, curling up into a ball.

A few moments later, his eyes blurry with tears, he pulls it away from him just enough to look at the screen, and then opens up the memo function.

 _Why_ , he writes.

()()()

“Yuya?” Yoko says that night as she’s cooking dinner. Yuya’s in the living room, one of the dogs in his lap, watching the TV like it’s some sort of alien object. “Do you mind if Gon-chan and Yuzu-chan come over tomorrow? Sora-chan, too. Hiiragi-san said the kids want to come see you, but I can see if you think that would be too many people at once.”

There are too many names and too many people for Yuya to compute. He pretends not to hear her over the sound of the sizzling frying pan, instead focusing all of his attention on the commercials. The clock strikes six, and the news starts, the camera rolling in to focus on two news anchors, a man and a woman.

 _“According to Maimi City authorities, the boy who has been mysteriously missing for the past eleven days, Sakaki Yuya, has been returned safely to his family as of noon today,”_ the woman says, and a picture of Yuya’s face appears onscreen.

Yuya stands up at once, without even realizing it, and the dog hops from his lap with an unhappy huff before trotting into the kitchen to look for scraps.

 _“Police have yet to come up with a cause as to Sakaki Yuya’s disappearance,”_ the woman continues. _“He was last seen participating in an Action Duel, when there was reportedly a malfunction with the Solid Vision system.”_ The screen changes, showing a split-second of Yuya reaching for an action card before smoke obscures the camera. _“His opponent was only mildly injured.”_

The anchor man takes over and continues on with the news, but Yuya doesn’t hear. He stares at the TV, his mouth open and his body frozen.

“Yuya?”

He turns, and his mother stands a few feet away, her eyes bright with concern.

“Yuya, what’s wrong?” she says, taking a step closer.

It’s then he realizes that he’s crying. “Mom,” he says, and his voice is just a rough croak. “Is this real?”

“Yuya,” is all Yoko can say before she pulls him into her arms. He holds her tightly back, pressing his face into her shirt, and the tears come quicker and quicker.

“What—” His voice croaks. “What happened to me?”

“I’m sorry, Yuya,” she whispers. “I don’t know.”

()()()

Two police officers come the next morning. Yuya watches the cruiser pull up outside and park on the edge of the street. A man and a woman officer get out, walk up to the house, and ring the doorbell. Hurriedly, Yuya takes the black duel disk from his pocket and stuffs it under his mattress, his fingers shaking.

“Yuya?” Yoko calls softly, poking her head inside his room. “Can you come downstairs? The police are here for a statement.”

He’s standing in the middle of his room now, toying with the pendulum around his neck. “…Do I have to?”

“You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to, Yuya,” Yoko says. “But I think you should get it out of the way.”

Yuya bites his lip. He looks away and catches sight of himself in the mirror, and he thinks of Yuto. He takes a breath, lifts his shoulders, and walks forward to join his mother downstairs.

Yoko sits on the sofa beside Yuya, stroking his back. Yuya rubs at his tired eyes—it took him forever to fall asleep, and only after he cried himself into exhaustion. The man and the woman sit in the chairs, trying to look as friendly as possible, Yuya knows, but he can’t help but look at their uniforms and think of Academia.

“Yuya-kun,” the woman officer starts. Sakamoto, she said her name was, and her nametag shines brightly on her chest. She holds a notepad and pen in her hands. “Do you remember what happened during your duel?”

Yuya shakes his head. He can’t look at these officers in the face—he can only glance at them before returning his gaze to his hands. For a moment he wishes he had the black duel disk to hold onto.

“I don’t remember that.”

“Your opponent—Shiunin Sora—said you reached for an Action Card, and then the Solid Vision began to crumble and fall because of his attack. You seemed to fall underneath it before the Solid Vision was turned off, and Sora-kun ran after you. From then on, you were missing, and he was fine. Do you remember anything about that?”

“No.”

“Can you tell us where you were since that day?”

He looks down. “I got hurt. Someone found me and took care of me. I was with him the entire time.”

“Can you tell us what his name was?” The man’s voice is deeper, and even though his words are polite, he can’t help but remember the soldier who sent Yuto flying. It’s almost insulting that his badge reads _Officer Kurokawa_ , with the same first kanji as Shun’s last name.

“He didn’t tell me.”

“Do you know where you were?”

“No.”

“Your mother said that your friend found you; could you please tell us about that?”

And so on the questions continue. They don’t push him terribly hard to answer, only probing once or twice—and Yuya doesn’t give them any ground.

“Well, we should probably get going, don’t you think?” Sakamoto says to her partner. She smiles at Yuya and Yoko. “If you don’t mind, may we come back another day? We need to make sure that we can finish our investigation.”

Yuya’s about to snap at them to leave him alone, but Yoko speaks first. “Would you mind calling before you arrive? I do think that Yuya needs all the rest he can get right now.”

“Of course,” Sakamoto says, nodding.

()()()

“Yuya!” The pink-haired girl immediately throws her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Yuya stands frozen, blinking and unsure, but the hug doesn’t last much longer. She pulls away, grabbing his shoulders so she can look at him. Her blue eyes shine bright, and tears spill onto her cheeks.

She’s come with Gongenzaka and a blue-haired boy—probably a year or so younger than them. They both look at him with that same apprehension, but the younger boy feigns disinterest, sucking on a lollipop.

“How are you feeling?” she asks, rubbing his arm. “Gongenzaka said—said that you were having trouble remembering things.”

Her eyes are striking and familiar, her smile reassuring, and Yuya wonders why the hell he can’t remember her name.

He glances away. “Um, fine. I guess.”

She bites her lip and pulls her hands away. “It’s Yuzu,” she says, forcing a smile, and he wishes the people around him would stop doing that. “It’s okay if you don’t remember. You’ve probably been through a lot. That’s Sora,” she says, pointing to the blue-haired boy.

 _Shiunin Sora,_ he realizes, remembering the officer’s words. His opponent in the duel when he disappeared.

Sora waves his hand and smiles. “Hi there, Shishou!”

“Shishou?!” Yuya repeats, jumping, and Sora laughs.

Gongenzaka smiles—a real, genuine one, which makes Yuya grateful—and nods. “He really looks up to your dueling.”

“Ah.” Yuya rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks?”

Yuzu puts her bag on the coffee table and kneels down to unzip it. “Sensei says you can come back to school whenever you would like to, but asked me to bring you the homework that you’ve missed. If you don’t feel like going, I can always pick it up and bring it to school with me. And if you need help, just ask!”

She stands up and hands Yuya a stack of papers and a couple of workbooks. He frowns at them and thumbs through the pages: Japanese, math, social studies, even some English…

 _Did Yuto have school before Heartland was attacked?_ Yuya wonders, and then, his heart aches. He never asked.

“Yuya?” Yuzu asks. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh?” He blinks, and then tries to laugh it off. “It just looks like a lot of work…”

“You can always ask me for help, Shishou,” Sora offers, coming over to Yuya’s side. “I may not be in your grade, but I know a lot of stuff.”

“Uh, thanks.” Yuya frowns at him.

Sora takes the lollipop out of his mouth for a moment and winks. “Anytime.”

“We can get a start now, if you want,” Yuzu says, and after a moment, Yuya nods.

()()()

Yuya lays his head on his arms as he leans over his desk; the warm cloth of his pajamas scratches his cheek. It’s dark outside; the moonlight only breaks through the clouds after every few minutes or even longer. He stares out the window. The clock on his desk reads 2:17.

After a few moments, he sits up and turns his head toward the mirror. In the darkness, his hair isn’t nearly so bright—and he can imagine that his eyes are grey.

Yuya bites his lip.

His face goes hot and he turns away. He stands up and pulls at the collar of his pajamas, starting to pace in a circle. He glances toward the bed, wondering if he would just be better off laying down, but then his mind flashes with the image of Yuto above him, kissing him, nipping his skin—

He inhales sharply. He covers his mouth—his fingers brushing his burning cheeks—and he wants to scream. He can feel himself becoming half-hard, his erection straining against his underwear. He closes his eyes and breathes through his nose, trying to think about something boring or even ugly, but all he can see behind his eyelids is Yuto’s smile, his clavicle, the scars on his chest and stomach—

Yuya sits on the bed and leans against the wall. It’s then he realizes that he’s directly facing his mirror.

With a groan of equal parts frustration and arousal, he slips his pants and briefs down to his ankles, then spreads his legs. He glances to his half-hard member, then looks to the mirror, watching his reflection—no, _Yuto_ —as he gently starts to stroke himself. A soft moan leaves his lips.

He can imagine it clearly: Yuto sitting across from him, leaning back with a hand around his cock. Tracing a finger over his own scars, his chest—and then without warning, Yuya unbuttons his shirt as quickly as possible. He pinches his nipple, biting back a loud groan.

“Yuto,” he hisses, and then he lets go of himself to lick his hand. There’s already a bit of precum on his fingers, and he looks into the mirror, imagining that it’s Yuto tasting him, or that he’s tasting Yuto and not himself.

He wraps his slick hand against his cock and pumps—he doesn’t even have the patience to start slow. He leans to rest his shoulders against the wall, nearly pressing his head back as hard as he can when the pleasure starts to mount. His mouth hangs open to let out loud, heavy panting. He squeezes his eyes shut and then forces them open, keeping his gaze on the mirror with an intense, needy expression.

“Yuto,” Yuya gasps. He tries to keep his voice low—the last thing he wants is to be overheard—but he’s so turned on and so desperate that he can’t judge how loud he is. The slick, wet sound of his hand pumping his cock fills his ears, and he can barely hear anything else. “Yuto, please—please, more…Yuto…”

Heat and tension curls up in his stomach, spreading throughout his whole body. With his free hand he continues to pinch his nipple, even twisting it almost cruelly even though he wonders if Yuto would ever treat him roughly. No, he would have to _beg_ Yuto for something more than those light nips and bites, and then if Yuto complied, he would kiss away any pains or bruises before kissing Yuya’s lips over and over as an apology.

Yuya’s gasps grow more sporadic, and he points his cock toward his stomach, pumping once—“Yuto”—twice—“please, I…”—and then finally—

He peaks with a cry of Yuto’s name on his lips again, and cum spurts from his cock, splattering onto his chest and stomach, and his whole body—especially his heart—feels so, so hot. He gently strokes himself, groaning lowly and trying to make the pleasure last for as long as he can.

But then, all too soon, the pleasure fades, and the first thing that Yuya realizes is that he’s cold.

The loneliness hits him all at once, making it hard for him to breathe. He puts a hand over his mouth and forces himself to sit up and reach for the tissues on the desk to clean himself up, and then he fixes his pajamas.

Yuya crawls into bed, pulling the covers up over his head. He pulls the black duel disk out from under his pillow and opens the memo function. Under the last entry— _I see you in every mirror_ —he puts this:

_I thought of you tonight. I think I could only ever think of you. I miss you so much._

He turns off the screen and holds the duel disk close to his chest and closes his eyes, wishing he could wake up in Yuto’s arms again.

()()()

“Shishou,” Sora says as he licks on a lollipop. He’s sitting on the coffee table, watching the TV as Yuya sits on the floor and works on his homework. Gongenzaka’s gone to the bathroom, and Yuzu’s helping Yoko prepare dinner. “Do you really not remember anything?”

Yuya looks up to find that Sora’s looking at him from the corner of his eye. “No,” he says. “I don’t.”

Sora makes a non-committal grunt and looks back at the TV, but Yuya gets the feeling that he isn’t really watching it. “…Sorry,” he says finally.

“…You were my opponent, right?” Yuya asks, putting down his pencil. “The officers said so.”

“Yeah.” Sora’s head turns down. “I tried to save you. But you kind of just…I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry.”

Yuya smiles, but his brows furrow. He reaches over and lightly hits Sora’s arm. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yuya…” He falters. “Shishou. Um…”

At that moment, the heavy sound of Gongenzaka’s footsteps come from nearby and Sora shakes his head.

()()()

“Yuya?” Yoko pokes her head into his room. “Can I come in, sweetie?”

He looks up from his desk. Between his own efforts and the help from Yuzu, Gongenzaka, and Sora, he’s gotten about halfway through his homework in the past few days. It gives him something to do, especially since he hasn’t yet found the motivation to go to school. At the very least, though, he’s gotten used to his home life. “Yeah, sure.”

Yoko smiles and closes the door behind her. She comes over and sits on the edge of Yuya’s bed, close to him. She reaches out and strokes his hair.

“Yuya,” she says. “I have an idea.”

He frowns, but he doesn’t move away. He doesn’t want to admit it, but having his head petted feels nice. It makes him feel young, like a blissfully ignorant child. “What is it?”

“Well, I want to know about what happened to you. I didn’t want to push you, you know. So I thought, ‘Well, Yuya has questions too.’ So you ask me one question, and then I ask you a question. You can ask whatever you want—there are no stupid questions. How does that sound?”

Yuya blinks. Then he looks down at his lap. “…Are you sure there are no stupid questions?”

“I don’t say things I don’t mean, Yuya,” Yoko says with a laugh. She tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. “Anything is fine.”

“Um…” Automatically, he lowers his half-broken goggles down over his eyes. He can’t look at her. “Is this place…real?”

“Well, without getting all philosophical…yes, Yuya. Our house is real, I’m real, and so are you and all your friends.” She pats his head again. “You’ve asked me this before, remember? And I said yes. But if you need to ask me again, don’t hesitate, okay?”

He lets out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thank you.”

“Okay, my turn.” Yoko puts her hands in her lap. “Yuya, were you hurt?”

He nods. “I don’t remember it, but there was an explosion. I woke up and…” His voice hitches. “Someone was helping me recover. We wondered if that was why I couldn’t remember anything.”

“I’m glad someone was there to help you.”

Yuya glances up, and at the sight of his mom’s smile, he hurriedly looks away, hoping his feelings for Yuto aren’t plastered all over his face. _How could I begin to explain_ that _…?_

Not to mention, he can’t even be sure that Yuto even existed in the first place, other than the black duel disk.

“Hey.” Yoko pokes his forehead gently. “Your turn, sweetie.”

“Okay.” He swallows a lump in his throat. “The pictures around the house… That’s my dad, right? What…what happened to him?”

“…Ah.” Yoko blinks, her eyes turning glossy, but she stubbornly keeps that smile on her face. “He went missing three years ago, right before an important duel. No one’s seen him since. I was…really worried that I wouldn’t see you again, either.”

It takes a moment for the words to sink in.

“What?” he blurts, sitting up straight. “He disappeared?”

She nods. “Without a trace. Just like you did.”

Yuya’s mouth drops open. He stands, pushing his chair backward with the force and causing it to roll away back into the wall.

“Yuya?!” Yoko grabs him by the arms. “What’s wrong?”

He squeezes his eyes shut. A light blasts in his head, like a memory—some unearthly light whirling past him. And then heat and fire, and him sailing through the air and hitting the ground, rolling over and over—

“Yuya!” Yoko snaps, and he opens his eyes.

“S-sorry,” he stammers, and Yoko stands to wrap her arms around him.

“Are you okay?”

He nods, but he’s shaking. “I…think I remembered something. Just—light, and the explosion. I think.”

Yoko squeezes him, and he buries his face in her shirt, his goggles pressing against his eyes. They stay that way for several minutes, Yoko petting his hair soothingly.

“…Can I ask another question?” Yuya asks.

“Of course, sweetie.”

He takes a breath. “If I told you I went to another dimension, would you think I was crazy?”

“You’re not crazy, Yuya,” Yoko says, kissing his forehead. “I believe you. You’re not the type of boy to go lying to his mother, either. You can tell me anything, Yuya, okay?”

He nods, and then slowly, she sits back down on the bed, and he curls up beside her, leaning into her side. He slowly lifts his goggles to perch up on his head, and then looks down at his hands.

“I woke up, and a boy named Yuto was taking care of me. He… Mom, he looks just like me.”

“Just like you?”

He nods. “Different hair and eyes,” he explains, gesturing to himself. “But…the same face and body. Neither of us understood why. I met other people there, and none of them looked like anyone I’ve met before.”

“Well, you definitely don’t have a twin,” Yoko says. “I would have remembered that.”

“I know.” Yuya is silent for a long moment. “We were in a city called Heartland. It was—Mom, it was awful.” His voice breaks, and he squeezes his eyes shut. He has to force his next words out in a rush. “I-it was being attacked. I promised Yuto I’d fight with him, but he—”

His breathing hitches, and Yuya can’t speak anymore. Tears blur his vision and fall down his cheeks, landing on his hands. Yoko pulls him into her lap and rubs his back, but he can’t stop sobbing.

“I dunno—” He hiccups. “What I did _wrong_ , Mom. I don’t know…!”

“Shh,” she whispers, but he can’t stop.

“He sent me back here and I don’t—I don’t understand…”

“He probably wanted to keep you safe,” Yoko says softly. “It’s not anything that you did, Yuya.”

He wants to believe her. He really, really does.

()()()

Something nags at Yuya, and he whips his head to the left, looking out the window. Below the second floor is the schoolyard, and beyond that, one of the many city streets. Despite it being a school day, a fair number of people are out and about. Yuya searches the crowd, his eyes peeled for _his_ face—

“Yuya-kun.”

He jumps in his chair and looks forward toward the front of the class. “Y-yes, Sensei?”

“I know it’s been while since you were in class,” Yamaguchi-sensei says, looking up from the textbook. “But please, try to pay attention.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

Yuzu gives him a sympathetic look from her desk and Yuya manages to smile back before he looks back down at his textbook. At least the subject is Japanese which it isn’t too hard to fall behind in.

He leans over it and pulls the black duel disk from his desk cubby, just enough so he can see the screen.

 _First day back at school,_ he types. _I thought I saw you outside but I think I’m just being nuts. It’s been two weeks now since I’ve been home. I’m slowly getting used to things. I haven’t dueled yet though. I keep worrying about you. Shun, too. Are you okay? Have you gotten hurt at all? I want to_

“Yuya-kun!”

He locks the duel disk and stashes it in his desk. “Yes?”

A vein is popping in Yamaguchi’s forehead. “Since you seem to be having trouble paying attention… The next time I see you playing around, I’ll take your duel disk.”

A panic jolts his heart, seizing his chest. “I-I’m sorry,” he says, and it’s all he can do not to beg his teacher to let him keep it.

“Good. Now, start reading from page thirty-seven.”

()()()

“Shishou?” Sora says as they walk home, Gongenzaka and Yuzu just behind them. “Have you dueled at all since you came home?”

It takes Yuya a minute to realize that Sora was talking to him. “No,” he says a little too late. “Not at all.”

Sora turns around, walking backwards. A hopeful smile spreads across his face, but there’s still a bit of apprehension darkening his eyes. “Do you want to duel me? Just for some fun?”

Yuya hesitates. He hasn’t dueled since the fight with Academia, when he lost control of himself and when Yuto almost was carded.

“Please?” Sora asks, clasping his hands together pleadingly. “Your duels are the best, Shishou! You always make everyone smile!”

That comes through to Yuya, and a small, embarrassed smile spreads across his lips. “Well…okay.”

Sora beams, his whole face lighting up. “Yay!” He grabs Yuya’s wrist and pulls him along, running. Yuya nearly trips, but he catches himself, and a laugh escapes him as he tries to keep up with Sora. Gongenzaka and Yuzu call out in surprise before hurrying after them.

Sora takes him to the docks, which aren’t too far away from the school. “I’ve always wanted to duel here,” he says, stretching his arms and taking in a deep breath. “I love the smell of the ocean.”

Yuya looks around. The docks are lined with warehouses, and crates of all shapes and sizes. It’s a fine enough place in the daytime, but there’s no one there besides the four of them—at least, no one who can be seen—and Yuya tries not to shudder at the thought of what this area might be like at night. At least there’s plenty of space to have a duel.

Sora skips a fair distance away, while Yuzu and Gongenzaka go to sit on a nearby crate. “Good luck, Yuya!” Yuzu calls, waving and smiling, and Gongenzaka adds a gruff but enthused “You can do it, Yuya!”

Yuya waves back to them before he pulls his red duel disk from his pocket and straps it to his arm. “Do you mind if I take the first turn?” he asks Sora.

“I was gonna offer it to you anyway,” Sora says, grinning.

“Okay! Draw!” Yuya grins and pulls from his deck, then sets up a Pendulum Summon to call for his Odd-Eyes, Hip Hippo and Whip Snake. He sets a card facedown and takes a bow.

For the first time in what feels like ages, genuine joy spreads throughout his whole body.

“My turn!” Sora says, hopping on one foot. He draws from his deck and sets out adorable Fluffal monsters, one sheep and one bear.

Yuya grins at the sight of them. “Cute monsters you’ve got there, Sora.”

Sora laughs and rubs the back of his neck. “Thanks, Shishou,” he says with a smile. Then, he takes a breath and widens his stance, pointing straight at Yuya. “But you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Sora sets down another monster card; this time, it’s Edge Imp Sabres, a set of vicious-looking scissors. “And then from my hand,” Sora says, smiling and pulling out another card to show to Yuya, “I activate my spell card Fusion.”

Yuya freezes.

The blue and purple card fills up his vision even though it’s so far away. All sound seems to be stripped away from the moment, and he can only watch as Sora puts down his spell card clasps his hands together.

And then Yuya can _see_ it—Fires. People running in panic. Cards fluttering, with terrified faces on them. Yuto being thrown through the air, crashing to the ground. Unmoving.

He backs up. Then he turns and runs.

Yells sound out behind him, calls of his name and pleas for him to stop. But he doesn’t stop—he hears cries and screams and he can’t tell if they’re real or imagined. He needs them to go away. He needs somewhere to hide.

Yuya ducks down an alleyway and weaves in and out of the crates. His heartbeat pounds in his ears and he gasps, and he’s—

“Yuya!”

Someone appears at the other end of the alley, holding out their hand. Thick goggles and a black mask, but a familiar tie and purple-and-lavender hair.

Without hesitation, Yuya grabs Yuto’s hand, and they both run.

Yuto leads him through the warehouses, ducking and weaving rather than taking a straight path. He ducks into the one of the buildings and it’s full of steel crates of all shapes and sizes. Yuto tugs him along through the dim maze, and then finally pulls him through a small opening into an alcove. It’s a small space, and the floor is covered with a couple tattered blankets; some light comes in through pinpricks in the wall of the warehouse.

Yuto lets go of Yuya’s hand just long enough to cover the hole they came through with a piece of metal. Then he turns back to Yuya and pulls him into his arms, hugging him close to his chest. It’s then that Yuya realizes he’s shaking.

“Y-Yuto,” he starts, but Yuto shushes him as he rubs his back soothingly.

“Stay quiet,” he warns. His voice is muffled by the mask, barely audible. “Try not to even breathe loudly.”

Yuya nods at once and covers his mouth with his hand. He tries to slow his breathing, but his lungs burn for air. Everything sounds so loud in his ears—his breath, his pulse. With his head against Yuto’s chest, he swears he can hear Yuto’s heartbeat.

And finally, that starts to calm him.

His free hand curls around Yuto’s torso and clutches at his shirt. Yuto pauses, and then runs his fingers through Yuya’s hair.

Voices sound nearby, and they both tense. Yuto puts his hands on Yuya’s shoulders, pushing him away just enough so that they aren’t a tangle anymore. Yuya stares at Yuto, trying to find his pearl-grey eyes, but the light is too dim and Yuto’s goggles are too thick.

Yuto puts his finger in front of his mask in a shushing gesture, and then he turns toward the opening. Yuya snatches his wrist, and Yuto looks back.

And then, Yuto disappears in a flash of light.

Yuya blinks. He reaches out again, his fingers touching nothing but air.

“Yuto?” he calls softly, but there’s no answer.

“Yuya!” someone calls, the voice echoing, and he’s pretty sure it’s Yuzu. “Yuya!”

And then, Yuya can’t help himself, and he starts to cry.

()()()

Sora bites his lip as he holds out a few cards. “You dropped these, Yuya.”

His hand is shaking as he takes them. “Thanks,” he says, trying not to look at him. He puts the cards back in his deck.

They’re all sitting in Yuya’s living room, Yuya on the couch and Yuzu sitting close beside him, a worried frown on her face. Gongenzaka stands with his arms crossed. Sora’s perched on the coffee table, his shoulders hunched. He looks small.

“Do you want to talk about it, Yuya?” Yuzu asks quietly.

Yuya looks through his cards. It helps to look at them and not at anyone else. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “I don’t know what came over me.”

He knows full well what came over him, but how could he begin to explain what happened to him? Not for the first time, he wonders what the old him would have done—what the Yuya with memories would say. Surely he would trust his friends enough to tell them anything. But the Yuya now and the Yuya from then aren’t the same anymore.

He can’t even be sure if he’s _sane_.

Falling in love with someone who looks just like him? Seeing people turned into cards, spending time in another dimension only to be dumped back in his? Finding Yuto again, only to watch him disappear without any trace?

 _Maybe I was just injured in that duel and hit my head real hard,_ he thinks. _Maybe Yuto’s duel disk is just some broken one I found. Maybe all of Heartland was a hallucination. Maybe I’m sick._

Yuzu puts a hand on his shoulder. “You can tell us anything, Yuya,” she says.

“Did my Frightfur scare you?” Sora asks quietly.

 _No, you did_ , Yuya wants to snap, but he closes his eyes and takes a breath. Sora is so kind and funny, even if he is eccentric. There couldn’t be any way that he could be part of Academia. If Academia even exists. “No. I just…”

“…Is it because of the accident in your last duel?” Yuzu asks.

“Yeah.” Yuya nods, thankful that Yuzu’s inadvertently given him an excuse. “I think so, maybe. Maybe I just remembered it and got scared.”

()()()

_You’re not real._

Yuya stares at the words he’s just written on the duel disk. He closes his eyes and remembers how real Yuto had felt just that afternoon. He was warm, solid, with a heartbeat. His hand around Yuya’s felt so _right_.

It couldn’t have been true.

He takes a breath and tilts his head up from where he lays on his pillow. The sun is edging toward the horizon.

 _My mom didn’t think I was crazy when I said I went to your dimension,_ he types out. _But now I really don’t know what the truth is. I saw you today, but then you disappeared. I remember you and Shun wanted to go to other dimensions to look for Ruri, but_

He stops typing. He sets the duel disk on his chest and closes his eyes again, taking a breath. No one will ever read this, he knows. Certainly not Yuto. And that thought fills his chest with a yawning blackness, threatening to swallow him.

Yuya looks out the window again. The sun is starting to dip below the buildings in the distance.

He begins a new line and types: _I’m scared that I won’t stop loving you even though I know you’re not real._

_You made me smile, too. But I need to stop._

Yuya puts the cracked duel disk on his desk and rolls over to lay on his side, facing the wall.

A few minutes later, his own duel disk buzzes. For a moment, he doesn’t move. Then he checks the screen.

“Hi, Sora,” he says, putting in a fake brightness to his voice as he lifts the disk to his ear. “What is it?”

 _“Yuya,”_ Sora says quietly, far too quietly, and Yuya sits up.

“Sora?” he repeats.

_“Can I ask you a question?”_

He tries to laugh, but it comes out small and entirely forced. He wants to say _no._ “You already did, Sora—but okay. Go ahead.”

There’s a moment of silence. Then: _“Does the word ‘Heartland’ mean anything to you?”_

Yuya drops his duel disk.

He scrambles to pick it up. “S-Sora? Did you—?”

He can hear Sora take a deep breath on the other end of the line. _“This is all my fault, Yuya. I’m sorry.”_

“What do you mean? Sora, how—” Icy coldness spreads through Yuya’s veins. “How do you know…?”

_“When we were dueling all those weeks ago, the Solid Vision malfunctioned. I tried to save you. I thought we were going to be crushed, so I tried to send us somewhere else. But… Yuya, I don’t know what happened. You went somewhere else, and I stayed. I was okay, but I think I sent you…to Heartland.”_

Yuya’s fingers tremble. His mouth opens uselessly.

 _“Sorry, Shishou,”_ Sora says, quieter this time. _“I’m really glad that you were friends with me.”_

The line goes dead.

Yuya leaps out of bed and rushes out of his room, but it isn’t until he’s run several blocks that he realizes he doesn’t know where Sora lives.

()()()

Yuya comes home far later than he should. He runs a hand through his hair, his limbs feeling like lead. He spent the last hour scouring the docks, looking for Sora—and for Yuto. There wasn’t a trace of either of them, even in the spot Yuto took Yuya to hide.

Sora’s words ring in Yuya’s mind. Heartland. Sora knows about Heartland. He sent Yuya there by accident. Which means that Sora can jump dimensions. Which means that Sora is probably from Fusion, probably from _Academia_.

Which either means that Yuya is really, _really_ crazy, or that Yuto is actually real, too.

Yuya locks the door behind him and comes into the kitchen. His mother isn’t there, but there’s a note on the table:

_Sakura-san next door invited me to come over and watch some reruns of Mitchie’s cooking show! (^_^) I left dinner for you in the fridge. I might be late, but call me if you need anything!!!_

She’s underlined the last word, and Yuya smiles. He’s actually a bit grateful that he’ll be alone for a little while to sort out his thoughts. He finds his dinner in the fridge and eats it quickly—he didn’t realize how famished he became when he was out looking for Sora—and then cleans up his dishes before he heads upstairs.

He doesn’t think much of anything until he comes into his room and finds Yuto standing at his desk.

Yuya freezes, blinking. Yuto's goggles and mask are on the desk, and in his hand is the black duel disk. He looks up at Yuya, and his pearl-grey eyes are wet. His skin seems paler.

“…Your mom brought me here,” Yuto says after a moment. “I…well, _appeared_ almost in front of her today for some reason, and she made me duel her.” He scratches the back of his neck. “I lost.”

Yuya stands there, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides. He swallows a lump in his throat, and his gaze flicks toward the duel disk. “Are you reading it?”

Yuto nods and looks down. “…I didn’t mean to intrude. I didn’t know you would write in it.”

Yuya doesn’t answer.

“I didn’t realize you…would think that way.” Yuto puts the duel disk on the desk. “I’m sorry.”

Yuya bites his lip. “Why are you here?”

“Shun and I are looking for Ruri, and he’s also trying to—”

“No,” Yuya says. “Why are you _here_?”

“I…needed to see you.”

Once again, Yuya doesn’t answer.

“…Your mom yelled at me,” Yuto says after a pause. “She told me about everything. About how worried she was about you. And how…grateful she was to me for helping you and sending you back to her.”

“You sent me away from you,” Yuya snaps, his whole body tensing.

“I know,” Yuto says. “But I couldn’t let you stay there.”

Yuya stomps up to him and grabs him by the collar, but Yuto doesn’t even try to stop him. “I promised you,” he hisses, and he’s pissed off that there are already tears in his eyes. “I promised you that I’d fight with you. I told you I’d never leave you. I thought, after we…”

He blinks, trying to fight the tightness in his throat. He takes a step back, loosening his grip, but he doesn’t let go. “I love you, Yuto. Why did you send me away?”

Yuto hesitates, but then, slowly, he puts his hand over Yuya’s. He’s warm and solid and _real_ and Yuya can feel the tears welling up in his eyes again.

“I love you,” Yuto says. “I always want to keep you safe. And…” He blinks as if to will away tears. “I couldn’t protect Ruri. How could I expect myself to protect you?”

“By keeping me next to you!” Yuya cries, and he lets go of Yuto to start pacing around the room. But then he stops and whips around toward Yuto. “Yuto, I—I want to protect you, too. I was so worried that you were—that you were…”

He shakes his head and continues: “I started to think you weren’t real. I thought I was…”

“Yuya…”

And in the next moment, Yuto’s brought him into his arms, pulling him close. “I’m real,” he whispers into his ear, and Yuya can feel hot, wet tears against his temple. “I’m sorry. I never meant to do this to you.”

Yuya hugs him back, burying his face in the crook of Yuto’s neck. “Yuto… I missed you so much…”

“I missed you, too. More than I could bear.” Yuto kisses his cheek, but otherwise doesn’t move. He strokes Yuya’s back slowly, soothingly. “I… I can’t say that I wouldn’t make the same choice if given another chance, Yuya. Your mom needed to know you were okay.”

Yuya squeezes his eyes shut, but the tears won’t stop coming and soaking into Yuto’s shirt. “I-I know.” He takes a shuddering breath. “I’m…glad I saw her. But still…”

“I know.” Yuto slowly pulls away and puts his hand on Yuya’s cheek, gently lifting his face up so that their eyes can meet. “But I promise—I’ll never do that again.”

Yuya bites his lip. “You really promise?”

Yuto nods, his gaze never leaving Yuya’s. “I do.”

Yuya leans forward, pressing his lips against Yuto’s. Yuto smiles and kisses him back, cupping Yuya’s face with both hands.

“I love you so, so much,” he whispers when they part, leaning his forehead against Yuya’s. “I know you can’t forgive me, but I’ll do everything I can for you, Yuya.”

“…I don’t think I _can_ forgive you, at least not yet,” Yuya admits. “But I trust you, Yuto.”

Yuto’s eyes light up, and he captures Yuya’s lips with his own, and gently pushes his tongue into Yuya’s mouth. Yuya moans and grabs Yuto’s waist, pulling his hips closer, all of his worries melting away—

He pulls his head away with an “oh” and red cheeks. “I, uh…don’t know what time my mom will be home.”

Yuto’s face goes scarlet, and he coughs. “She, um, said she would stay out so she wouldn’t intrude,” he says, looking away.

Yuya’s whole body goes hot with embarrassment, and he hides his face against Yuto’s chest. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. But, uh, I do think we should close the door. I mean—if you want to, um…”

Yuya, face still flaming, silences Yuto with a quick kiss before hurrying to the doorway. One of his mom’s dogs is out in the hall, head tilted curiously. Yuya gives it an awkward wave before closing the door and locking it.

He turns around, only to find that Yuto’s followed him—closely.

Yuto reaches out one hand to stroke Yuya’s cheek, while the other reaches toward the switch on the wall. “Lights?”

Yuya doesn’t think he could bear not being able to see him. “On.”

Yuto smiles yet again and presses his whole body against Yuya’s, pushing him against the door. He kisses Yuya’s lips, prompting another moan, and Yuya wraps his arms around Yuto’s neck. He can feel Yuto’s hardness so incredibly close to his own, and he bucks his hips, earning a gasp.

“Can I—?”

“Yes,” Yuya says, not even knowing what Yuto wants, but so long as he keeps touching him, he doesn’t care.

Yuto pulls him toward the bed and gently pushes him down onto it. Yuya smiles up at him, but then, his eyes flicker toward the desk, and his cheeks turn pale.

Yuto follows his gaze, and he grabs the cracked duel disk before shutting it off and putting it in one of Yuya’s drawers. He sits down on the edge of the bed and reaches forward to run his fingers through Yuya’s hair. “Is that better?”

Yuya nods, still a little shaken, and Yuto leans down to kiss his forehead. Yuya wraps his arms around him, and Yuto just gently strokes his face and hair.

“I’m not going anywhere this time, Yuya,” he whispers. “I promise.”

Slowly, Yuya nods, and his grip loosens. Yuto gives his lips a chaste kiss. Then, conversely, he reaches down with one hand to rub at the front of Yuya’s crotch. Yuya groans, long and low.

Yuto’s smile has turned into a bit of a smirk. “May I?” he asks, tugging at Yuya’s waistband.

Yuya immediately lifts his hips, and Yuto pulls down his pants and briefs. Without wasting a second, Yuya takes off his shirt, leaving himself completely bare aside from his choker, and then reaches up to take off Yuto’s tie.

“You can do whatever you want to me,” Yuya says, breathless. “But _after_ you take everything off.”

Yuto laughs and helps Yuya with his mission. Soon, he’s as bare as Yuya is, and Yuya can’t help but run his hands up and down Yuto’s chest and sides, his back, tracing his scars with his fingers. God, he wants to lick them all, but Yuto doesn’t give him the chance to, because he’s kissing his way down Yuya’s abdomen, inching closer and closer—

He passes Yuya’s dick and instead kisses his thigh, nipping lightly at the sensitive skin. Yuya twitches, but Yuto’s got his hands on his hips, keeping him still. Yuya reaches down and grips Yuto’s hair, trying to move him closer to his groin, but Yuto just laughs and keeps kissing him.

“Yuto,” he whines. “Please…”

Yuto looks up, his eyes half-lidded. “Because you asked so nicely…” He gently takes Yuya’s cock in his hand and holds it delicately as he _nuzzles_ it. Yuya’s face flushes a tomato red at the gesture—and the feeling—and then Yuto’s licking him, making him shudder and moan.

Yuto wraps his lips around Yuya’s cock, licking around the head. He sucks, just lightly, and then slowly takes Yuya’s full length into his mouth.

“Yuto…!” Yuya’s grip becomes so hard in Yuto’s hair that he’s worried he’s hurting him, but Yuto doesn’t make sign that he’s uncomfortable. “Please…”

Yuto starts to bob his head, his jaw slackening a bit. He loosens his grip on Yuya’s hips, and Yuya looks down, meeting his eyes. And then, Yuya nods, and he starts to buck his hips into Yuto’s mouth.

“I love you, Yuto,” Yuya gasps. “I… I—!”

His whole body tenses and heats up, and then he cums right into Yuto’s mouth. Yuto starts a little at the sudden spurt, but he closes his eyes and swallows all of it before gently pulling away.

Yuya pants, trying to regain his breath, and Yuto kisses his way back up to his cheek. He looks down at Yuya with those soft, beautiful eyes, and Yuya can’t help but grab him and pull him down for a kiss. Yuto tenses, probably surprised, but relaxes easily when Yuya pushes his tongue inside, tasting himself.

Yuya has to pull away all too quickly to regain his breath. Yuto smiles at the sight.

“I take it you liked that?”

Yuya nods, his chest heaving. “Please take me.”

Yuto’s eyes widen. “Yuya, doesn’t that—” He blushes, like he didn’t just go down on him. “Doesn’t that take a lot of preparation?”

Yuya looks away, and coincidentally, his gaze finds the mirror, and it’s his turn to flush yet again. “…I…thought about you a lot,” he mutters. “Though I’ve only tried a couple times. And I bought, um…”

Yuto touches his cheek, bringing his attention back to him so that their gazes meet. “Are you sure?”

Yuya nods. “Very.”

“You have to tell me if anything feels wrong at all, okay?”

“Promise.”

Yuya sits up slowly, and Yuto leans back, letting him reach one of the drawers. He pulls out a small container and untwists the cap before dipping two fingers in. Then, smiling directly at Yuto the whole time, he reaches out and wraps his hand around Yuto’s cock.

Yuto gasps, his eyes falling closed. He groans lightly as Yuya slowly pumps him, spreading the lube over him. The way he bites his lip is so precious that Yuya can’t help but lean forward and peck his cheek.

“Okay,” he says, a bit quietly as he pulls his hand away. He holds the container out for Yuto to take, and then lays back down on the bed, bending and spreading his legs. “Go ahead.”

The lusty haze in Yuto’s eyes starts to fade, replaced with a worried sharpness, and Yuya smiles at him. “Don’t worry, Yuto. I trust you.”

Yuto stares at him for a long moment, and then he nods, moving a bit closer. He dips a finger in the lube and then carefully prods at Yuya’s entrance.

It takes a while, and though Yuto’s slow and cautious, it isn’t exactly comfortable. But Yuya keeps the smile on his face and quietly offers words of encouragement. He feels that this is somehow backwards, but it doesn’t matter so much to him—right now, only Yuto matters.

Finally, Yuto’s able to stick a few fingers in, and he brushes that bundle of nerves that has Yuya moaning. It’s an unexpected outcome, given how quickly—but carefully—Yuto withdraws his hand.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

Yuya nods. “I’m ready.”

Yuto’s been blushing the whole time, but now he can’t even look at Yuya. “O-okay.”

“Yuto.”

He glances back at Yuya.

Yuya smiles. “We don’t have to.”

“It’s not that,” Yuto blurts. “I’m just…”

Yuya turns his smile into a full grin. “The fun’s about to begin, Yuto! I trust you.”

Yuto blinks, and then, after a moment, a laugh escapes him. He leans over Yuya to kiss him, long and deep. “I trust you, too. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

This time, the smile stays on Yuto’s face. He carefully adjusts himself and uses his hand to guide himself to Yuya’s entrance. At Yuya’s encouraging nod, he slowly enters him.

Yuya tries to breathe evenly to relax, but he has to admit, it’s a weird feeling. Not bad, but not as pleasurable as he hoped. He feels better once Yuto’s all the way inside and waiting for Yuya to get used to the sensation, though.

“You can start,” Yuya says, feeling a bead of swear drip down his temple.

“Okay. Tell me to stop whenever you need me to,” Yuto reminds him, and then, he slowly pulls out almost all the way, and then pushes back in. He can’t help but groan, his fingers digging into Yuya’s hips so hard that Yuya wonders if there will be bruises later. Without seeming to mean to, he starts to go faster.

And then he hits that spot, and Yuya _moans_.

Yuto immediately stops, startled, but Yuya reaches out to grab his ass. “Please,” he begs, pulling on him. “That felt so good, Yuto.”

“Yuya,” he gasps, and then he starts thrusting his hips again, going even faster. He leans down, using one arm to keep himself propped up—it makes his thrusts sloppier, but he’s still hitting that spot, so Yuya can’t complain—and he kisses Yuya’s lips.

Yuya moans, his mouth wide open—he wants to kiss Yuto but he also needs to _breathe_ —and he rakes his fingers up Yuto’s sides before digging into his hair. He gasps and cries out and tries over and over to say Yuto’s name, and his whole body and his _heart_ feels so hot, and then—

His whole vision turns white and he cums with a yell. Yuto isn’t far after him, thrusting one final time before releasing.

Yuto pulls out, shuddering, and collapses beside Yuya before pulling him into his arms. It’s difficult to know who kisses who first, but they kiss each other’s lips, faces, everything they can reach.

“Thank you, Yuya,” Yuto whispers once they’ve finally calmed.

Yuya caresses his cheek. “You’re welcome,” he says with a grin, and Yuto laughs. But then Yuya snuggles up against Yuto’s chest and traces his finger along the scars, becoming mesmerized.

“I’m coming with you,” he says quietly.

“I know.” Yuto hugs him. “…Part of me wants you to stay here, but I… I know you wouldn’t be happy.”

“…My dad and my friend are missing.” Yuya pauses. “I need to find them.”

“We’ll find them. And Ruri.” Yuto kisses his forehead. “…I’m sorry, Yuya.”

Yuya pinches his arm, and Yuto hisses. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Stop being sorry all the time,” Yuya says with a huff. He pokes Yuto’s chest to emphasis his next words. “If you’re really sorry, stop saying it and actually let me stay with you. Got it?”

That brings another laugh from Yuto’s lips, and he kisses Yuya on the mouth. “Got it.”

Yuya narrows his eyes at him. “Promise?”

Yuto’s eyes are so full of delight and laughter and _love_ that it strikes Yuya to the core. “Promise.”


End file.
